


The Pack Life

by Luna1513



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alpha Camille Belcourt, Alpha Isabelle Lightwood, Alpha Jace Wayland, Alpha Magnus Bane, Alpha Raphael Santiago, Alpha Sebastian Verlac, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Beta Clary Fray, Beta Maia Roberts, Delta Simon Lewis, Deltas (Mediator), F/M, Gammas (Warrior), Idris (Shadowhunter Chronicles), M/M, Malec, Mating Rituals, Mating Run, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Alec Lightwood, Past Magnus Bane/Camille Belcourt, Werewolf, Wolf/werewolf, wolf - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2018-12-29 18:10:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 22,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12090561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna1513/pseuds/Luna1513
Summary: The small town of Idris has a tradition that is as old as the town itself, The Mating Run. At the end of the last day of school, all graduating students (18 years old) and any unmated wolf that are between 18 and 21 are forced to attend the event. The Mating Run is like a big debutant ball for most. But far less fancy, held in a forest and with wolves instead of people in fine attires.Alec Lightwood is stuck going one last time to the dreaded event, but he knows that he won't find his mate. He's sure he'll spend the rest of his life single and with the limited population of the small town of Idris, it might true. Good thing New York City is close by and Izzy and Jace have an invite to the opening of a new club and five fake IDs.





	1. Chapter 1

It was a week before the end of the year in the small town of Idris, and summer was coming up. All the students were rushing for their final exams, eagerly awaiting summer break and the adults were preparing for the big event. Everyone, but a hand full of people, was excited for the big event, the Omegas.

Idris has a tradition that is as old as the town itself, The Mating Run. At the end of the last day of school, all graduating students (18 years old) and any unmated wolf under the age of 21 are forced to attend the event. The Alphas (leaders), Betas (Second in command), Deltas (Mediators), Gammas (Warriors) and the Omegas (Outcasts) are all divided in their own groups. The Omegas start by running into the forest to find a territory of their own to await the other wolfs that will have followed them.

Then the Deltas and Gammas enter the forest and try to find the scent of a wolf they like, followed by the Deltas and finally the Alphas. All are looking for the scent of their mate, or at least who they think is their mate.

Deltas and Gammas usually mate among themselves or sometimes Betas. Betas go for pretty much anyone but mostly Alphas. As for Omegas, they are rarely mated to anyone else but Alphas. Being a rare gender, Omegas make 2% of the towns’ population and were often seen as a hindrance. They weren’t weaker just less dominant then the other genders and that pushed them to the bottom of the social pyramid.

The Mating Run is like a big debutant ball for most. But by far less fancy, held in a forest and with wolves instead of people in fine attires.

If you found a partner that you liked, and liked you back then you were set. If the feelings weren’t mutual both parties part ways and try to find their real mate. But Omegas weren’t so lucky. They weren’t allowed to approach anyone so that made meeting their mate harder. If another wolf is interested Omegas can agree to the paring or refuse, and risk the chance of a fight. Most Alphas don’t take well the rejection of an Omega and want to fight to show their dominance and that leads to some casualties during this event.

This year, Alec Lightwood was going to be forced to attend the ceremony for the last time. He was finally going to be 22 this year but he still needed to wait for five months until September 12th and the Mating Run was at the end of week so he would have to attend this one. He had managed to avoid being mated for three years and he intended to do the same this year.

His sister, Isabelle, had found her mate on her very first Mating Run. She was an Alpha and her mate Simon was a Delta. They had been friends ever since Simon moved in to town and they knew that they wanted to be together so the Mating Run was just a formality at that point. His best friend, Jace Wayland, was also mated. He had met a fiery Beta called Clary Fairchild, who happened to be an old friend of Simons’, and was happily mated since.

Even if Jace was an Alpha, Alec thought that Clary was the one that was mostly in charged in their relationship. As for him, he wasn’t as lucky. Being an Omega in a family of Alphas wasn’t exactly easy. He had to prove himself to his parents even more then before and it made him into an Omega that didn’t fit the mold. This lead to him being even more of an outcast and his peers at school has kept a good distance from him with the exception of Jace and his sister.

After his first Mating Run, he came out to his family and Jace about his sexuality after rejecting a female Alpha Lydia Branwell whom his parents had tried to set him up with. Luckily it hadn’t turned into a fight since she found her mate shortly after leaving Alec in the woods. This put another strain on the Lightwood family bond and Alec and Izzy decided to live in an apartment from then on.

Word traveled fast and it did limit the amount of “suitors” he got during the next Mating Run. He only had to fight once, against an Alpha called Sebastien Verlac who had picked a fight with him because of a previous grudge.

Sebastien and Alec had once been close but once Alec met Jace, they drifted apart and Jace became Sebastien’s biggest competition in both popularity and in sports. Not taking it very well, Sebastien became focused on besting Jace in everything that he could. All this rivalry got to him and he became a bully to Jace’s friends and that included Alec. During the Mating Run, Sebastien had stumbled upon Alec’s territory and decided to pick on him just to tick him off. What started as mocking remarks became insults and then full on blows. The fight attracted the attention of many wolves and it took the intervention of the town sheriff to separate the two. That year the Mating Run was cut short and both were sent to the hospital to get stitches. Luckily for Alec, Sebastien had found a mate during his stay in the hospital and was now living in New York City with her.

“Only one Mating run left and then I’m free.” Alec told Izzy and Jace, while sitting on the sofa in the café.

“Do you think you’ll find someone this time?” Jace asked.

“No.”

“Who knows, maybe someone new will show up in town and sweep you off your feet.” Izzy said in a joking tone.

Alec rolled his eyes and got up to get a cup of coffee. He was now helping Jace run the town’s coffee shop with their friend Simon that they met threw Clary. He had never found someone that he found even remotely attractive at any mating run, social gathering or even just walking in town. He knew he was gay because of a past crush on Jace but he was completely over it after a year and now he was simply accepting his fate. He would never find someone in this town. He could move but there was no guarantee that he would find his mate even if he left and leaving his sister and Jace behind didn’t sit well with him.

“I’m just going to live my life and too bad if I don’t find a mate. I don’t need one. Look how Mom and Dad turned out. They mated with someone that wasn’t really their mate and now their cheating and arguing all the time. If I have to choose between being single and that, I’m going to stick to the single life.”

“You could at least keep an open mind to meeting someone. It doesn’t have to be at the Mating Run.”

“Don’t even get me started on that stupid event and its stupider rules.” Alec’s grumbled.

Alec was about to start ranting about his hatred for the event when the door to the café was pushed open and a tall figure walked in.


	2. Chapter 2

Alec, Jace and Izzy turned as the tall figure entered the café followed by two smaller figures.

“Sitting on the couch isn’t very productive for a coffee shop.” Luke Garroway said in a joking tone.

“It’s a slow day. Everyone is busy with the Mating Run.” Clary replied as she sat down next to Jace on the love seat.

Simon walked to Alec, behind the counter and started to make himself a cup of espresso and poured Luke a large cup of dark roast coffee. The pleasant atmosphere and sound of light banter made Alec happy to be a part of this group of friend but he still kept on thinking about the Mating Run and about his love life, or more so lack of. Sure he told everyone that he didn’t mind having being single but in times like these, where both Izzy and Jace were with their significant other, it was hard to not feel a little left out. 

“Well I have to go back to the station so have fun kids.” Luke said before walking to the door with his cup of dark roast in hand.

“We’re not kids anymore Luke.” Replied Clary.

“You’re always going to be kids to me.” He replied while walking out the door.

“Btw, since it’s the end of the school year and we worked our asses off this semester, we should go out and have a night of intense partying.” Izzy said completely out of the blue.

“Izzy we finished our semester two to three weeks ago. High school students are finishing right now, not university students.” Alec replied.

“Details! It’s never too late to celebrate. So Jace and I heard about a club in New York City called ‘Pandemonium’ and their holding a huge party since it’s under new management. It’s the new ‘it’ place. We have to go.”

“You’re all underage…” Alec started 

“We have fake IDs.” Izzy interrupted him.

“And when is this big party?” Clary asked feeling a catch coming up.

“Well that’s the thing it’s tonight and starts at 10h30 but there’s going to be a huge line so we should try to be in New York at 8h. We’ll eat close by and then go to the club.”

“Izzy it’s almost a two-hour drive from here to downtown New York.” Alec groaned. “I really don’t want to go. I’m not a club person. Hell I’m barely a social gathering person.”

“Come on Alec it’s going to be fun and don’t say you have something planned I know for a fact that you have nothing. Jace and Clary were willing to come.”

“Wait so all of you knew about this event but me?” Alec asked while looking at his friends in stupefaction. “Why was I the only one not informed?” 

Everyone avoided making eye contact except for Izzy who told him that it was because had he known before, he would have planned something else to avoid going, so telling him last minute was the only way to get him to go.

After a lot of complaining and being pressured by his sister with speeches of responsible driver and need to let loose, Alec finally gave in and agreed to go to the club with them. Izzy was trilled and was already planning out his outfit for the occasion.

“Wait. If we’re going to be there so late and you’ll all be drinking, that means that I have to drive back. No way! You and Jace are horrible drunks and I’m not driving for two hours with you two in the car.”

“I already booked 3 hotel rooms so that’s not a problem. You have no excuses so give up and just agree.”

Alec tried to come up with reasons not to go for the next hour but Izzy always found a counter and it was finally time to close the café and go home to get ready.

It took Izzy half an hour to find something decent to wear. All his shirts were old and worn out and not the fashionable kind. His black shirts were becoming grey and his jeans were all plain. It took digging into the back of his closet to find some of the clothes Izzy and Jace had gotten him for his birthday and Christmas to find something new and appropriate. The outfit was simple for most people but this wasn’t part of Alec’s comfort zone. The skinny jeans were black but too tight in his opinion and the dark grey t-shirt had a V-neck instead of a round one and was clinging to his body unlike his “one size to big” regular ones. Still, he got dressed and waited after Izzy who was talking for ever to choose what she was going to wear. She apparently didn’t want to wear her original choice of a black body con dress. Then there was a red jumpsuit, a forest green mini dress, a few other outfits and after what seemed like forever, she settled her choice on a silver mini dress. Jace, Clary and Simon arrived just as Izzy was finishing her makeup and a few minutes later they were all packed into Simon’s van, on their way to New York.

“We’re here! OMG people are already waiting in line and it’s barely 8h30. We should go wait in line but I don’t really want to wait for two hours and I’m hungry.” Izzy whined.

The whole group agreed. None of them were willing to wait for two hours on an empty stomach. They were trying to figure out what to do when a man in a well-tailored suit past by them, bumping Izzy in the process.

“Forgive me Miss. It wasn’t my intention to bump into you.” The man said in a very polite tone.

“Oh no it was my mistake we were blocking the side walk. We were just debating something, sorry.”

“What could you be debating in the middle of the side walk?” He asked, an eyebrow raised.

“We wanted to go to Pandemonium tonight but the line is already forming and we were hoping to grab a bite before going but we think that the line will reach around the block by then.”  
“Ah! Yes, indeed. The line will be very long in about an hour. Well I think I can fix your problem, I’ll just add you to the guest list and you won’t have to worry about the line. As an apology for running into you.” He said walking towards the door of the club. “Please follow me.”

“Raj. Please add these fine people to the guest list for tonight.”

“Sure Mr. Santiago. What names do I have to add?”

Getting over the shock of having their dilemma solved each gave their name to Raj and showed him their (fake) IDs.

“Thank you so much! Oh I didn’t get your name.”

“I’m Raphael Santiago. I’m friends with the new owner of the club. Well I must take care of the finishing touches for tonight so goodbye and hope to see all of you later. As for a good place to eat, I would recommend the Indonesian restaurant, two streets down.”

Raphael entered the club, leaving them at the door with Raj, completely bewildered. What were the odds? They then went to eat at the Indonesian restaurant he had recommended and had a blast. They then went for froyo across the street because Clary and Izzy wanted a cup with plenty of toppings and once they were finished, it was 10h45 and they headed back to “Pandemonium”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's not Magnus walking in the café but he's going to be there in the next chapter and not just at the last line.
> 
> It's a little like a filler so sorry about that.
> 
> Btw thanks for the kudos and comments.
> 
> I'll try uploading every 2-3 days.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Magnus appears! I hope you like it and I appreciate the Kudos and comments! Thanks!

The group walked by the line, getting jealous looks from the people waiting in line, and were let in by Raj. The inside of the club was fantastic. The seats, the booths, the bar, everything was perfect. It would have been perfect except for Alec, if not for the sea of people occupying the whole room. The dance floor was packed and the bar didn’t have a single stool free. The only space free was a booth and table elevated on a platform, that was clearly reserved for VIPs as showed by the big bouncer at the bottom of the five steps leading to the platform. It was empty for now but it was probably for the owner and Raphael.

“Izzy, it’s packed how can you have fun in a place like this?” Alec asked, nearly screaming in his sister’s ear.

“Let loose Alec. This place is great. Let’s go get you a drink and then you’ll maybe loosen up.”

Izzy didn’t even wait for a reply and made her way through the dancing crowd with surprising ease, while Alec was elbowed and shoved by the people dancing. Was it the Alpha aura that allowed Izzy to naturally glide through the crowd because this was impossible to do as a regular person, Omega or not. As he finally made his way to the bar, he saw Simon and Izzy cuddling at the bar. He slowly looked around and saw a lot of couples or people flirting, all of them mundanes. It was really starting to get to him. God were they lucky. There was no mating in the mundane world, only werewolves had to deal with that. The Mating Run was approaching and since he was unlikely to find a mate, his parents would still try to pressure him into a match that would help their reputation. With all those dark thoughts, Alec didn’t even notice the man staring at him from the other end of the bar.

“Why hello there handsome!” Said the man once he had approached Alec.

Turning around abruptly, Alec looked at the man who had pulled him out of the swarm of dark thoughts that had him in a daze. What he saw nearly made his jaw drop. There, standing before him was the most gorgeous man he had ever seen. A caramel tan skin, silky black hair combed up into a short and messy pompadour with golden tips, dark brown eyes with a glimpse of gold flakes lined with kohl, well defined lips framed by a close shaved goatee and a lot of jewelry. The man had a very flamboyant style. His electric blue silk shirt was open to reveal his smooth chest, with rows of different size golden chains resting upon it. He wore tight leather pants that made Alec feel very baggy in his skinny jeans.

“Do you like what you see? If you’re going to stare at me so much I think it would only be far to offer me a drink at least.” The man said with a lopsided grin.

“Sorry. I… I didn’t mean to stare. I got distracted and… Sorry.”

“No problem handsome, but what’s your name?”

“I… I’m Alec. And you?”

“Why hello Alec, I’m Magnus Bane. Is Alec short for Alexander?”

“Ya. No, no one... I mean yes. But no one calls me that. Alec is fine. I’m…I’m just going to shut up now.”

“Oh what a pity I was hoping to get to know you better dear Alexander.”

Alec’s cheeks turned red and started to heat up. Hopefully the colorful lights hid the blush from Magnus’s gaze. Alec was nervous. It was the first time he felt this way because of someone. This gorgeous man was taking to him and seemed to actually want to know him. This was too good to be true. There had to be a catch.

Magnus didn’t smell like a werewolf yet he had the presence of an Alpha and god was he good looking. There was no distinct gender smell so he had to be a mundane. That meant that Magnus couldn’t be his mate. Wait what?!? Where did that thought come from? They had just met. They didn’t know anything about each other and Alec was already thinking about Magnus as a potential mate. Great, he was officially crazy. Or desperate. All this Mating Run was really getting to him. 

“Did you come here alone?” Magnus asked while sipping his drink.

“No my sister and our friends dragged me to this crazy place.”

“Dragged?” Magnus repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Did you not want to be here?”

“This isn’t really my scene. I try to avoid these kind of events full of people.” Alec said, scratching his neck awkwardly. “I’m more of a good book and a cup of coffee kind of guy. Drinking and grinding with strangers isn’t my idea of fun.”

“Well that’s a shame. I was going to invite you for the next event. I thought we could get to know each other a little more.”

“Invite me for the next event?” Alec’s asked. “Do you know the owner?”

“Darling, I am the owner. Welcome to ‘Pandemonium’! Where the wildest parties are held.”

The statement petrified Alec on the spot. He had just been bashing the event in front of the host. The amazing man standing before him was the one responsible for the event and here he was just going off about how the event was pure chaos. Great impression. Clearly he had managed to insult the most gorgeous man that ever walked the Earth. Why was he not surprised?

“I… I didn’t… I’m sorry. I… I’ll just go. Sorry again.” Alec said, head down and slowly turning away from Magnus.

“Why the rush to leave? I thought we were going to get to know each other?”

“You still want to talk to me?”

“Of course. Even if you don’t like these events, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to get to know you. How about you come to the platform with me so we can talk and get more familiar with each other.”

Alec followed Magnus to the VIP area and after a few beers, he was relaxed and happily socialising with Magnus. The more they talked, the more he realised Magnus was great but they didn’t have much in common. Alec wasn’t very social and preferred a calm atmosphere, while Magnus was a social butterfly. Still, Alec was drawn to him and he hoped he felt the same about him. They were eventually interrupted by a Alec’s phone ringing.

“Jace. What’s wrong?” Alec asked.

“Why do you automatically assume that something is wrong if I call you? I just wanted to know where you were. Izzy and Simon are very drunk and we were going to head back to the hotel.”

“Oh ok I’m on my way. Meet you outside.”

Alec turned to Magnus with an apologetic look telling him his friends were waiting for him to leave. As he was going to go down the stairs, Magnus caught his arm and pulled out a pen and wrote down his number on Alec’s arm and gave him a kiss on the cheek before wishing him a good night. Alexander was so chocked and just wandered off towards the exit, still in a daze from the sudden kiss. As he exited the club, Jace and Clary saw his strange expression and looked at each other in concern. Jace then asked:

“Alec, are you ok? What happened to you in there?”


	4. Chapter 4

Jace and Clary had been too busy talking care of Izzy and Simon to get an answer from him, and Alec was glad because he knew they would get too invested in this. He didn’t even know what had happen himself. He was sure he had made an ass of himself and yet Magnus had written his number on his arm and kissed his cheek. Doubt started to creep into his mind. Maybe it was a fake number and the kiss was just a joke. Oh God. That must have been what happen. No man as perfect would actually want to go out with a guy like him. He started to panic but was interrupted by a knock on his door. Jace was looking at him in concern.

“Hey. What happened to you at the club? You were really acting weird when you came out. And where had you gone we looked for you but couldn’t find you?”

“It’s nothing really I just started to talk with someone and lost track of time.” Alec said rubbing his neck. 

“You met someone? You actuall… Wait what is that on your arm? Numbers? That’s the person’s number? Wow. Since when do you work this fast?” 

“We just talked. He was nice and when I was about to leave he just wrote down his number on my arm and…”

“And..?”

Alec recalled the kiss Magnus had sprung on him before he left and it made him blush. Magnus had kissed him. Jace looked at his friend as he was getting redder and redder. A smile grew on his face. He knew Alec really liked the stranger he had met at the club and was determined to learn more about him.

“And nothing really. I just left and went out to meet you guys.” Alec quickly said, clearly avoiding eye contact with Jace.

“I know you’re not telling me everything but Izzy won’t be as laid back about so get ready for that.” Jace said not wanting to push Alec yet. He knew that Izzy would get Alec to talk. “Goodnight.”

As Jace walked back to his room, Alec looked at his arm and pondered what to do now. Should he text Magnus? But they parted ways less than an hour ago. It was too early to text him. But then again Magnus was maybe expecting him to at least send him a text so he would have his number. Alec kept going back and forth on the question. It was eventually an hour later and he still wasn’t sure what to do. 

“Damnit Alec, get it together.” He told himself. “Great, now I’m talking to myself.”

After a few minute, he finally wrote down Magnus’s number in his contacts, but still didn’t have the courage to actually text him. He eventually finally had the courage to text Magnus a simple ‘Hi, it’s Alec. So here’s my number.’ he realized that it was 4 a.m and that Magnus was probably sleeping. He started to panic, not wanting to wake him so early, especially since he had probably gone to bed very late. Hopefully Magnus wouldn’t hear the text and…

As Alec was thinking it. A ding was heard coming from his phone indicating that he had received a text. He opened the conversation page and saw:

‘Alexander! I’m glad you ended up texting me. I hope you got home safely.’

‘I’m so sorry I didn’t think about what time it was when I sent it to you. I hope I didn’t wake you up.’

‘I just got back from Pandemonium so there’s no worry there. Anyways, I’d always be glad to hear from you.’

‘Oh, ok good.’

‘Do you want to meet up tomorrow, well today around 12h30 for late lunch? I know a great little bistro.’

‘I’m going back to my town at 10h tomorrow with my friends. I’m sorry I won’t be able to make it.’

‘Oh you’re from out of town? Well that’s a shame. I was really looking forward to seeing you again.’

‘Ya I live in Idris which is a small town a few hours away. We can meet up next time I’m in the city.’  
‘Idris? Oh I know that place. Nice town. Maybe I’ll be able to visit you went I go there.’

‘Really? That would be great.’

‘I must go Alexander but I hope to see you soon.’

‘Ok Bye’ After closing his phone, Alec went to bed with a smile on his face.

When the group checkout of the hotel, Izzy and Simon were still hungover. As they got into the van, Jace brought up the mystery man Alec had met and that sobered Izzy up in a second. She was now pestering him, trying to get information about the mystery man. Alec tried to ignore her but after half an hour he finally opened up and told everyone about Magnus. He told them about how they met and that they texted but he still didn’t mention the peck on the cheek he got.

Once back in the small town of Idris, Alec dropped everyone off before walking to the coffee shop to open it. He worked alone since Simon was still in ruff shape after the party and Jace had a date with Clary. It was a calm day so Alec didn’t mind. Once it was close to closing time, the bell on the door rang while he was cleaning the machines.

“Sorry we’re closing for today.” Alec said, his back facing the door.

“I know. I just needed to give you this message.” The stranger said, handing Alec an envelope.

“What is this?”

“I was just asked to deliver it. Goodnight.” The man said before leaving.

Alec opened the envelope and read:

‘I saw you in New York. It’s been a long time. I think I’ll be heading back to Idris soon. See you soon.

\- S.V-


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting a little late but i have school and it's taking a tole on me. Hope you like it.

Alec froze, paper still in hand. S.V. Sebastian Verlac. After almost 2 years, he was coming back. This was bad news. Nothing good could come out of this.

Alec went back to his apartment, still nervous about the letter. Izzy and Simon were in the living room and as he came in, the nervous look he wore was a dead giveaway that something wasn’t right.

“Alec, what’s wrong?” Izzy asked.  
“I got a letter from Sebastien. This weird guy came to the coffee shop at closing time and just left the letter. He said he saw us in New York and it made him want to come back to town for a while.”

“I thought he had heard the last of him after he mated and left for the city. Where did he see us anyways? Isn’t New York big enough so we wouldn’t have to see him.”

“This is all your fault. I knew I shouldn’t have gone to the party. If only I hadn’t gone I wouldn’t be in this situation. I wouldn’t get weird mail delivered by creepy weirdos at the coffee shop and Sebastien would still be out of our lives.”

“Don’t blame me for his craziness. Plus, if I hadn’t dragged you there you wouldn’t have met Magnus. Look what happened is in the past now we have to deal with the future. Who knows, maybe he won’t actually do anything.”

“Unlikely if it’s Sebastien. That guy is like Barty Crouch Jr from Harry Potter. Crazy and obsessed once he’s set his mind on something.” Simon intervened. 

“Not helping Simon.” Izzy replied. “Look, let’s get some sleep and we’ll talk about it tomorrow with Jace and Clary. If ever he does show up, we’ll just have to make sure that we don’t cross paths.”

Alec shrugged and went to his room. As he was getting ready to go to bed, sure he wouldn’t get much sleep, when his phone rang and he saw a message from Magnus pop up on the screen.

‘Hello Darling, I was wondering if you would want to come over and go out with me tomorrow? I know it’s last minute but I would love to get the chance to spend more time with you.’

‘Hi. I’d like too, but I’m scheduled at the coffee shop tomorrow until 5p.m.’

‘Well that’s perfect because it wouldn’t be until 9.’

‘9? What would we do?’

‘I was thinking that we could have a few drinks and get to know each other.’

‘I’d like that. Ok, I’ll meet you at 9.’

‘Great so I’ll send you my address.’

‘Address? We’re not meeting at Pandemonuim?’

‘I wasn’t planning too but if you want we could.’

‘No, no I thought that we would meet there since it’s your club and you probably need to be there. But hey your apartment is great.’

‘I don’t have to go every night. I go because I like too, but I want to spend some time with you in an environment with less…grinding. ;)’

Alec paused for a second and remembered his critic of the club and the fact that he had complained about everyone grinding and getting drunk.

‘Ya, sorry about that one. I really don’t mind it that much.’

‘I’m simply teasing you darling. So see you tomorrow.’

‘Goodnight Magnus.’

‘Goodnight Alexander.’

After that, Alec went to sleep. Completely forgetting about the days’ events.

* * * * *

Magnus placed his phone on the bedside table, a smile on his face. Only 24 hours had pasted since he saw Alexander and he really missed him. Alexander and Magnus hadn’t really talked about anything important at Pandemonium, but he still had left a deep impression on Magnus.

From the beginning, Magnus had felt drawn to Alec. Maybe it was a wolf thing. He knew that Alec was an Omega just by the scent, and that’s what made him notice the reserved man among the crowd, but as soon as he saw him, his beauty was what got Magnus interested. This tall man was clearly not in his element, even with his handsome appearance and looked ready to bolt out. Magnus had taken a pill to hide his gender since being a single unmated Alpha surrounded with drunk mundanes usually lead to people throwing themselves at him. It was known that mundanes reacted differently to Alphas then the other werewolf genders, but mostly to unmated ones. Mundanes were either drawn towards or afraid of Alphas, and once drunk, their composure would usually make them act recklessly. Many time, people had tried to convince him to have a one-night stand, which had been funny at first but quickly got old. There was also that time when a man threw a bottle of beer at him and tried to punch him. The man was quickly apprehended by the security of the club where it had happened, but since Magnus tried to find a way to avoid such events. He found out that having other Alphas around was a good way to deal with the issue. Maybe it was the fact that there was more to choose from or more than one Alpha was to intimidating, but he wasn’t as harassed when Raphael or Ragnor was with him. Mated Alphas didn’t seem to have the issues. They usually didn’t have problems at all. After asking around, he found out about a pill he could take to hide his gender and avoid all complications and had been taking it ever since, when he was at a club or party.  
He thought about Alec and how he would react once he discovered that Magnus was also a werewolf. Hopefully he would be happy.

Magnus lied down and drifted off to sleep, a dream about Alexander slowly forming in his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for the delay, I've been swamped with homework.

Alec was pacing in his room. He had agreed to go to New York to meet up with Magnus but now the realization was starting to dawn on him. He would go to Magnus's apartment and be alone with him.

Alone! They would be alone. In his apartment. What would they do? What will happen? Did he expect something?

He should cancel right now! But that would be rude. Magnus would get offended. The thought of Magnus being upset at him made him even more nervous. No, he couldn't cancel. What was he going to do?

"Alec! It's time to go open the coffee shop." Jace yelled from outside his door.

"Coming!"

Alec grabbed his jacket and his phone and joined Jace into the living room and they both left to open their business.

 

At the café, Alec wasn’t much better. He paced and went on a cleaning frenzy when there was no client. Jace eventually got sick of it and cornered him in the back-store.

“Ok! What is wrong with you today? You’ve been pacing and fidgety all day long.”

“It’s nothing. It’s just, I’m meeting with Magnus tonight and I’m getting nervous.” 

“You’re meeting up with him tonight? Since when did you have this planned?”

“Last night. It was last minute. He invited me to get a drink.”

“Well, why are you so nervous? It’s only a drink. You did that last time.”

“The thing is, we’d be at his apartment, not the club.”

“So you’re nervous about being alone with him.”

“Well ya. I don’t know what to expect. Is it only a social thing or is he expecting something?”

“I never met him, but as for tonight, it’s up to you. If you just want to have a chat with him then it’s up to you. You don’t owe him anything. Just see how you feel about it at the moment and follow your gut.”

“You’re right. I’ve got nothing to worry about. We’ll just have a drink and talk about stuff and then I’ll go to the hotel, easy.”

With a little more confidence, Alec continued his shift at the café, while Jace messaged Isabelle about Alec’s date. Izzy was thrilled about the news and rushed to Alec’s room to start finding an outfit for him and to pack his bag.

* * * * *

Magnus was having a late lunch with Raphael in his apartment. Both were discussing the plans for Pandemonium when Raphael brought up Alec in their conversation.

“So I saw you with the black haired guy at the party.” 

“Alexander was a surprise. I didn’t think I would meet a guy like him at the party. He’s so calm and more of a quiet type. I wonder how he got in.”

“I bumped into his sister on the street before the club opened and put their names on the list.”

“Well, I’m glad you did. Fate was in my favor that night. I can’t wait to see him tonight.”

“So he’s really the one for you? I thought you would go for a Beta or an Alpha, considering your past relationships.”

“Oh yes, I didn’t have much luck with those so a change wouldn’t be a bad idea. Anyways, I didn’t think I would find anyone with such a scent. No other Omega scent ever made me feel this way.”

“Does he know you’re even an Alpha? If you met at the party, he wouldn’t have been able to know.”

“Sigh. He doesn’t even know that I’m a werewolf so no. I was just going to let him notice once he’s here. I don’t know how he’ll react once he knows that I’m an Alpha.”

“If he’s like the others, he’ll be all too thrilled about it. The last Omega you met was really ‘too friendly’.”

“Yes, but I have a bad feeling about this one. I have a gut feeling he’s more likely to run for the hills then be happy about it.”

“Well, you’ll see tonight.”  
“I guess I will.”

* * * * *

Alec arrived in his room to find Izzy already there, with three different outfits placed on his bed.

“What are you doing in my room?”

“I have outfits planned for tonight and for tomorrow. I already packed a few outfits and…”

“I’m just going for one night, not a week-long vacation.”

“I want to make sure you have an outfit for any event.”

“Izzy, I’m just going for a drink, then I’ll go to the hotel and come back the next day.”

“Well, I guess we can go with only two outfits plus the one you’re going to wear.”

“Fine. So what do you have planned for tonight?” Alec agreed, not wanting to argue to end up with the same results.

“So I was thinking that a dark grey V-neck t-shirt and a black skinny-jeans with these black leather casual dress shoes I bought you and you can wear your regular leather jacket with it.”

“I’m never going to wear does shoes ever again. It’s a waste. Return them.”

“I’m going to give them to you for your birthday anyway so just take them now. It’s no use arguing, and you know it.”

Alec sighed. He knew that there was no changing his sister’s mind when it came to fashion. Izzy mentioned that Magnus was a well-dressed man and that made Alec wonder how she knew. He didn’t have any pictures of him so how did Izzy know what he looked like?

Seeing his questioning look, Izzy opened her Instagram and after a few seconds, she showed him all of Magnus’s recent posts. Most of them were of him with different people, having some intense parties or great pictures of him modeling different outfits. As he scrolled down, Alec had to admit that Magnus was a well-dressed man. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw how much of a difference there was between the two. Two total opposites. Determined to make that difference shrink, he turned to Izzy and agreed to wear what she had planned. It was a small step but it was a good beginning.

* * * * *  
Alec was finally at Magnus’s apartment. Well at the door really. It was a plain building that didn’t seem very fancy. It kind of looked like a warehouse from the outside. The door was a solid black metal door and the only indication of it actually being a house was the mail sloth and the intercom next to the doorbell. Alec was once again pacing. He was trying to get the courage to ring the bell but every time he got close, he would pause before actually pressing on it. After a 10 minute wait, he heard a voice calling him from the roof. As he looked up, he saw Magnus leaning over the balcony, looking down at him. Immediately, Alec started to worry about how long Magnus had been up there looking at him. Magnus opening the door pulled him out of his chain of thought and before he could even say ‘Hi’, a strong scent filled his lungs. Alpha!


	7. Chapter 7

Alec’s mind was racing. The strong scent of an Alpha surrounded him. The smell of peppermint and sandalwood, with a dash of cinnamon. It was a strong scent and Alec was studded to find out that it was emanating from Magnus.

‘This couldn’t be.’ Alec’s thought. ‘It’s clearly a werewolf scent.’ 

Alec’s mind was reeling. No human could have such a scent but it was clearly coming from Magnus. The situation didn’t make sense. Last time Magnus smelled like a regular human and now he was a werewolf? That didn’t make sense but there was no other explanation. Magnus was now a werewolf. Someone must have turned him! That was the only explanation.

Alec, worried about how the transformation had affected Magnus then asked:

“Magnus are you ok? How did it happen? Did you shift yet? Are you feeling strange?”

“What are you talking about Alexander? I’m fine. I was worried about you. You were pacing at the door.” Magnus replied clearly confused.

“No, I’m talking about your change. You’re a werewolf now. How did it happen? Were you bitten? By who? When did…”

“Alexander, I’ve always been a werewolf.”

“What? But at the club, you were a human. You smelled like one. How is it possible?”

“I take a pill to cover up my gender when I’m at the club. It prevents unwanted attention from mundanes. Now let’s go inside and have that drink. The doorway isn’t the most comfortable place to talk.”

Magnus made his way inside, waiting for Alec to follow. Alec was stunned and confused. He stood still in the alleyway, not sure what to do. He didn’t like that Magnus had kept such a secret from him. Magnus knew he was a werewolf but had kept quiet about himself. Alec felt betrayed which didn’t make much sense since they had barely spent time together and in no way feel this betrayed.

“Are you coming in?” Magnus asked.

Alec looked up at him and debated with hi8mslef what to do. On one hand, he really wanted to spend time with the gorgeous caramel skin man but he also didn’t like being in the presence of an Alpha that he didn’t really know. In the past, he didn’t have much luck with Alpha males. Sebastien’s face popped up in his mind. Clearly, Alpha males weren’t a good mix with him. Still, his guts told him that this time it could be different. He had gotten along with Magnus at the club. Building on that strand of hope, Alec’s stepped foot inside the building, closing the metal door behind him.

Magnus let a sigh of relief pass his lips when Alec stepped into his apartment. He had expected him to turn and run. He could see the dilemma still lingering on the younger man’s face as his brow was still furrowed. Magnus led Alec threw another set of frosted doors that opened to a modern living room.

Magnus sat on one of the accent chairs, next to a small table with different alcohols already ready to be served. Alec sat stiffly on the sofa, looking around from the corner of his eyes. Pouring himself a cocktail, Magnus broke the silence.

“What would you like to drink?”

“A beer would be good.”

Magnus brought him a beer and sat back in his seat. After taking a sip out of his martini glass, Magnus tried to start a conversation.

“So what’s new in Idris?”

“Not much. Same old small town was it had been for as long as I can remember.”

“I guess that they still have a limited choice in entertainment. Last time I was there, there was only four movies playing at the theater and most were boring and depressing.” He said with a smirk.

“Sounds about right.” Alec said feeling a little less nervous.

“Well, I understand why you and your friends came to the city to have fun. Idris wouldn’t be the party capital in any state.”

Alec laughed lightly at the remark. He no longer felt nervous being alone with Magnus even if he was an Alpha. He was now used to the scent and found it even calming. The conversation continued, changing the subject from time to time as they drank some more. A few hours and drinks later, both were happily chatting and laughing, when Alec looked at his watch and realized that he should head on off to the hotel and got up.

“Leaving already. But we were having such a nice time.”

“I need to go now to be able to book a room at a hotel. Any later and the counter will probably be closed.”

“I doubt that the front desk is ever closed at any hotel in New York. None the less, I insist that you stay here for the night.”

Alec felt his heart start to race. Magnus was inviting him to stay over for the night. He didn’t think that he’d spend the night here. He felt his cheeks flush a little at the idea of staying over. It then hit him. Would they be staying in the same room? The same Bed? No, he’d probably be on the couch.

“I have a few spare bedrooms so feel free to stay here and spend the night. If you did stay, we could continue on with our conversation.”

Alec’s heartbeat calmed down. A spare bedroom. Of course, this apartment had extra bedrooms. He didn’t see much of it, but he could see that Magnus was just as conscious of his home’s interior decor as his own physical appearance. The furniture was clearly great quality and the antiquities that were placed here and there were obviously real. The analyze of the apartment made Alec realize that he didn’t know much about Magnus. Sure he knew his age, that he owned Pandemonium and was a conscious dresser who liked cocktails, but that was pretty much all he knew. This made him want to know more about the gorgeous man before him.

“So do you want to see the spare bedrooms?”

“Sure.”

“So here’s the first one.” Magnus said after opening a door, revealing a room with a posh look. It was mostly black and white with a few navy accents.

“This is the second one.” Magnus said after opening a second door further down the hallway. The second room was a little more casual with wood on both the floor and the walls. The gray furniture made Alec feel more at ease than in the first one that seemed a little stuffy.

“Finally, the third spare bedroom. This one is a more recent one. It’s just been remodeled.” Magnus opened the door and Alec’s eyes grew wide. The room was stunning. The room was a split level and the bed was up the small flight of stairs. The rest of the room was equipped with a living area, an electric fireplace, a big screen TV, a desk and office chair and in the corner, there was a hot tub. Alec’s jaw was now on the floor. A hot tub. There was a hot tub in the room.  
“All rooms come with a full ensuite and walk-in-closet.” Magnus added.

“This room is like a luxury apartment all on its own.”

“Well, then it’s settled. You’ll be staying here for the night.”

“Thanks Magnus. I really appreciate it. I think I’ll go to bed now, I had a long day. I hope you don’t mind.” 

“It’s fine Darling. My room is the next one down. Feel free to come and get me if there’s anything.” Magnus said with a wink.

Alexander’s checks became red as a tomato. Magnus was hitting on him. Magnus gave Alec a kiss on the check and strutted towards is room. Once Magnus disappeared into his room, Alec walked to the bed and just fell on it, completely star-struck. He slowly fell asleep, thinking about the beautiful man of Indonesian descent sleeping in the other room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not writing for so long. I had exams and work and finally a social life but all that is over now (well the social life part) so I should be back to writing more frequently. So sorry again and hope you like it.
> 
>  
> 
> P.S: the edit was just a spelling mistake

Alexander was deep in sleep when the door to his room was slowly pushed open. The person on the other side had been knocking on the door but with no answer, decided to enter the room. The tall figure leaned over Alec’s sleeping body and was about to touch him when Alec turned to face the intruded and mumbled a name. Magnus.

The silhouette leaning over the man froze, hand barely an inch away from his shoulder. Alec had just called out Magnus’s name, the shadowy man just thought. That was his name. What could the younger man be dreaming of? Alec mumbled some more and Magnus tried to listen to what was being said.

“Magnus…Date…Great time…”

A fond smile grew on Magnus’s lips. Alexander was dreaming of a date with him. This was probably the cutest thing ever. Magnus kept on staring at Alec’s sleeping face with a look of wonder in his eyes. After a while, Alexander tossed again in his sleep, pulling Magnus out of his daze. Finally remembering why he had entered the room in the first place, Magnus started to gently shake the sleeping Omega. It took a while to finally get him up but when he opened his eyes Alexander and saw Magnus peering over his bed he was quickly awake.

“Magnus! What are you doing here? What time is it?” Alec asked a little embarrassed to have Magnus staring at him in his sleep. Which did sound weird once he thought about it.

“It’s still nighttime, Daring. I came to warn you about an unfortunate guest that will be arriving shortly. I thought it would be best for you to be awake for this.”

“What? Who’s coming over? If they’re so bad why let them in.”  
“It’s a past girlfriend. She has a tendency to come at the worst of times and she always finds a way to sneak in. I rather have my eye on her form the moment she enters my home. She was at least kind enough to call before arriving. Her name is Camille, Camille Belcourt.”

“Okay. Do you want me to be there when she arrives?”

“I think it would be best for you to stay away from her but she has a tendency to wander and make quite a ruckus. I would of rather not waking you up from that dream but I wanted you to be prepared. Even if our date seemed to be going so well.” Magnus added with a smug smile.

Alexander took a moment to think about the comment. Date? Then it hit him. Magnus knew about his dream. He became red as a poppy and started to feel even more embarrassed. He must have talked in his sleep. This was the most embarrassing moment of his life. He had dreamed of a perfect date with Magnus. Fancy candlelight dinner, midnight stroll, romantic music coming out of somewhere and they were just about to kiss when he had been woken up. The more Alec’s thought about it, the more he realized that the date seemed more like a cliché rom-com scene then a date he’d actually enjoy. Not that it wouldn’t be great, just not his actual ideal date.

“I spoke in my sleep?”

“Just a little mumble here and there but I got the main idea.”

Alec was going to reply but the doorbell rung and Magnus got up to go answer and just before leaving Alec’s room, he turned around and said:

“Don’t worry darling, our next date will be even better than your dream one.”

Magnus exited the room and Alec’s could hear him mumble a curse when the doorbell was repeatedly pressed, a second later. As he got dressed, he could hear muffled voices coming from the living room. Once ready, he started to make his way there but stopped when he heard a very familiar voice. The voice of someone he had hoped not to see anytime soon. Sebastian.

* * * * *

Magnus let Camille and her husband into his house. He had never liked the man due to the strange creepy feeling he got every time they met. He was far from thrilled to see Camille especially when he had a great night with Alexander but being stuck with both Camille and her weirdo was even worse. And to think that the evening had gone so well.

“What do you want Camille? It’s been almost a year since you came over and I was actually quite happy about it.”  
“Magnus, I know you missed me but I was busy. I made time for you because I heard that you got yourself a new playmate.”

“He is Not a playmate. Not that it’s any of your concern.” Magnus replied clearly annoyed but her words and tone of voice.

“Well, it kind of is since he’s an old friend of Sebastian. They both grew up in Idris together, so he knows him quite well.”

“I just thought I should warn you about him and what he’s like. Since you were such an important part of Camille’s life. Before she met me.” Sebastian added with a smug smile. While Magnus rolled his eyes. “He was always a bit of an outcast even before presenting as an Omega and after that, it kind of just went downhill from there. He just hung out with his sister and this other guy he was head over heels for. We drifted apart from there since he was always following that guy, Jace. He had no real social interaction with anyone else and once the Mating Run started, he started to get aggressive and picked fights with people that were dominates. You know, Alphas because he was jealous he presented as a weakling. So we just wanted to warn you about that.”

Magnus was looking at them with a smile. Both Camille and Sebastian were a little stunned by such a reaction but smiled back. Magnus took a sip of his drink he had poured himself during the long monologue.

“Thank you. I appreciate your concern and that you took the time out of your schedule to warn me about all that.”

Alexander who was still hidden, froze when he heard Magnus say that. He had wanted to rush into the room and call out Sebastian for being a liar and a few other less polite words, that shouldn’t be said in the presence of young people, but he really didn’t want to see Magnus’s face at the moment. Magnus barely knew him and it seemed now that he believed what he had been told. The thought of Magnus not approving of him made his chest hurt. Some would say that it was the Omega in him and right now, he was inclined to agree because it hurt far less than admitting that Magnus didn’t like him the same way he did.

“But next time don’t waste your time and mine. I may not have grown up with him, but I do know Alexander well enough to know that you’re lying and I don’t even care why. Just leave before a really get angry and throw both of you out.” Magnus said, shocking all three people listening.

His eyes were flickering from his usual brown eyes with gold flakes to full-on gold eyes. His aura was also growing stronger and Camille and Sebastian both knew that an angry Alpha who was close to shifting wasn’t a good sign. When that Alpha was Magnus, it was even worse since he was one of the strongest Alphas in the state and also the country.

“Well don’t tell us we didn’t warn you.” Camille quickly said as she grabbed her purse and made her usual dramatic exit, followed by Sebastian.

Magnus was calming down when he heard the floor creak from the hallway. He looked around the corner and saw Alec trembling. All his anger quickly disappeared, leaving only concern for the younger man.

“I’m sorry darling. I didn’t know you were there. I thought you were still in your room.”

Magnus wrapped his arms around Alec and tried to reassure him. But Alec wasn’t scared of Magnus’s strong aura or the fact that he almost just shifted due to anger. It wasn’t even because of Sebastian and his rude comments and the lies. It was because Alec just realized that he liked Magnus. It wasn’t actually ‘like’ it was more like LOVE!!!


	9. Chapter 9

Alec was shocked. Realising his feelings was like being hit by a train going full speed. He was winded and started to feel dizzy. Magnus supported him while still trying to calm him down. The chock of the revelation was strong and once he was able to stand properly Alec pulled out of Magnus’s arms and started to head back to his room in very stiff way, which got Magnus worried. Once in the room, Alec sat on the bed and Magnus sat down next to him.

“Are you okay Alexander? I really didn’t think that you were there. I’m sorry…”

“It’s not that. I just…”

“You can tell me Alexander. I want to help.” Magnus said softly while taking Alec’s hand in his own.

“It’s just… I didn’t think I would see him again. Not so soon at least.” Alec told him. It was true but not the whole truth but it would do for now. He wasn’t ready to admit his feelings and since they knew each other for only three days it would be to soon anyways.

“Him? Sebastian? From what I understand, you were acquaintances from school in Idris.”

“We were more than just acquaintances, we were friends. Best friends even, until I met Jace in our third year of high school. It was true that I wasn’t part of a big circle of friends but I had more than just him and Izzy. I just preferred to hang out with them. So once Jace and I became friends, Sebastian started to get aggressive and competed with Jace at every sport, in academia and he even made dating a competition. If Jace had a girlfriend, Sebastian got one that was ‘prettier’ or something. Jace just ignored him but I guess Sebastian still assumed he was losing and started to get plain mean. He started to hang out with the wrong crowd and became a real pain in school. He particularly liked to make fun of me. I guess it was easy since he knew pretty much every embarrassing thing that happened when we were friends so he just used that to make fun of me. He particularly liked using the fact that I was an Omega against me. You know the usual, making degrading comments, calling me weak, pathetic and stuff like that. It’s true that I would have preferred to be anything other than an Omega and so did my parents so that was always an easy jab at me. As for the Mating Run incident, he stumbled onto my spot in the woods and started to annoy me. This time it became a full on fight and we really got hurt. We were brought to the hospital and I got a few stiches and after that he left for the city and that was the end of it. We haven’t seen each other since, but after we met, some guy came at the coffee shop and left a letter from him. It was really strange. He said he saw me and that he wanted to see me again. I was trying to find a way to avoid that so seeing him here was quite a shock, so ya. Wow that was long. Sorry to drop all of this on you now.” 

Alec looked at the ground. This was an intense conversation about all the shitty times of his life and he just spilled the whole thing to Magnus on their first date or after their date really since it was close to 3 in the morning. To Alec’s surprise, Magnus squeezed his hand and said:

“I’m glad that you told me the truth Alexander. I knew that he was lying to me when he spoke about you, but I didn’t know why so I didn’t understand just how bad it was. I was angry then but knowing the story behind it, I’m furious he and Camille had the audacity to come and slander you in my presence.” Magnus’s face was a mix of anger and sadness. He couldn’t believe that they were such pitiful and spiteful people.

“How did you know that Sebastian was lying? We haven’t gotten the chance to spend that much time together, yet you were so sure that it was all fake.” Alec’s asked Magnus.

“I know you well enough to know that you’re not like that. It doesn’t take a genius to see that you’re a wonderful and kind person. You wouldn’t be the type to be aggressive or petty. I trust my judgement and you Alexander.”

“Thank you Magnus. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome darling.” Alec’s yawned and Magnus took that as a cue to leave. “I think it would do us both some good to get a few hours of sleep. Goodnight darling.”

“Goodnight Magnus.” Alec responded as he lied down, resting his head on the fluffy pillow, while looking at Magnus.

Magnus exited the room and made his way towards his own bedroom. What Camille and Sebastian had told him made his blood boil. How dared they slander Alexander’s name. He had stayed calmed with Alexander but now that he was alone, his anger came back in full force. Once in his room, he paced around and his body started to quake. He fell on his knees and suddenly he was in wolf form. His wolf started to take control of his actions and he trashed his room, ripping his bed and curtains to shreds and leaving large claw marks on the furniture. Thankfully, his wardrobe was closed off so none of his clothes were destroyed in the carnage. Magnus also like to think that his wolf wouldn’t destroy his clothes either way.

After an hour of letting off some steam, Magnus shifted back to his human form and went to his ensuite to take a hot shower. The drops of water hitting his skin undid the knots in his shoulders and made his muscles unwind. As he got out, he heard a noise coming from his room. Rapping a towel around his waist, he exited the steamed filled bathroom and went to see what was in his room, making so much noise.

In his room was Alexander, cleaning the mess that he had left. It was endearing to watch him pick handfuls of feathers and putting them back in the mostly destroyed pillows. Some feathers were now tangled in his hair and sticking to his clothes.

“Alexander. What are you doing up?” Magnus asked while slightly hovering over the younger man.

As he turned to answer, Alec came face to face with Magnus’s bare chest. So focused on his cleaning, Alec hadn’t seen that Magnus was only wearing a towel around his waist and had drops of water dripping from his hair. All coherent thought or response he had were immediately gone. All he could focus on was the perfectly sculpted abs and pecs that were on display before him. Magnus noticed Alec ogling him and smirked.

“Like what you see? I wouldn’t mind making a habit of this. That is if you would do the same.”

Alexander's face was redder than ever and he jumped to his feet and ran out of the room.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay and the short chapter. I'm swamped with homework and exams. Hope you like it and thanks for the support and nice comments. Have a great day.

Alone in his room, Alec was overrun by mixed feelings. He just ran out on Magnus. He became nervous, worried about the man’s reaction. He didn’t want Magnus to think that it was too much for him, even if seeing Magnus with only a towel on had come as much of a surprise, but not an unwelcome one. Just thinking about it made his cheeks burn and he was sure he had a stupid smile on his face. The cliché fog spreading from behind Magnus as he had entered his bedroom was almost comical and in any other situation Alec would have made a comment but it had been too awe-inspiring to see the gorgeous man half naked. The towel had hung low and Alec could see the top of the “V” shape just above the towel and thinking about it just made his blush worse. It was a miracle he hadn’t past out due to the rush of blood going to his face.

* * * * *  
Alec had just run out of the room but Magnus was still smiling. It had been a surprise to see the young man in his room when he was sure he had gone to bed. Seeing him in his room, Magnus’s wolf had immediately pushed to start the mating ritual but Magnus knew better and decided to tease Alexander instead. He had purposefully pushed the innuendo and was quite happy with the results. Sure Alec had run out on him, but he knew that it was just enough to get Alec’s mind focused on that instead of the looming presence of the annoying Verlac boy in his near future.

Magnus got dressed in a pair of silk pajama pants and made his way to Alec’s room. He knocked on the door and after hearing a faint reply to come in he opened the door and entered the room. Even if he had only been in the room for a few hours, the room already smelled like the young Omega. Magnus was pleased because that meant Alec felt comfortable there. A smile grew on Magnus’s lips as he sat o the edge of the bed, next to Alec who was sitting in the center of it. His face was still bright red and Magnus thought that it was the most endearing thing he had ever seen.

“Sorry if I embarrassed you with my statement. It was to tease you a little.”

Alec froze a little and felt a little sad, he knew that it had been a joke, yet hearing Magnus say so made his chest tighten a little. Felling the change in attitude, Magnus added:

“But I wouldn’t mind doing so for real.”

Alec’s chest stopped aching and started to swell with happiness. He tried to hid it but Magnus knew that it had made him happy. His forehead was no longer creased and his jaw soften. It was true that they had little time to know each other but Magnus had already picked up on some of Alec’s unconscious reactions that made understanding him a lot easier.

“Btw, I appreciate you trying to clean the mess I made but I think professionals would be more suited for the job and I need to refurnish anyways do just rest, it’s almost morning.”

“Where are you going to sleep?”

“There are two spare rooms. I’ll be fine.” Magnus gave him a suggestive look and said: “Unless you want me to stay here with you.”

“I wouldn’t mind.” Alec blurted out in a whisper, slightly louder than planned. Realising that he said it out loud, he became livid and covered his hands over his mouth and let himself fall backward on the bed. He hurried to cover his face with a pillow and stayed like that, waiting in horror for Magnus’s reaction. This was probably going to end badly or very awkwardly. Alec started to make a list of the places he could go at 4 in the morning.

Magnus froze when he heard the reply. He had meant it as a joke to get another great reaction out of Alexander but he hadn’t expected to get his blessings to do so. The wolf inside of him had of course seen it as a call to mate but the shock prevented Magnus of even acknowledging it. Ever since they met, Magnus knew Alec liked him and thought he was good looking but Magnus wasn’t sure if he felt the same pull that seemed, at least to him, to bring them together. Alexander had just confirmed that he also felt the same attraction Magnus had felt ever since they had met at Pandemonium. Realizing this, Magnus approached Alec who still hid his face in the pillow. He lied down next to him and whispered in the younger man’s ear.

“Then I’ll stay with you. Sweet dreams, Darling.”

Magnus then closed his eyes and started to fall asleep. Alec waited a few minutes and lifted the pillow from his face. When he turned to look at Magnus he realized that he was asleep. It made sense since he hadn’t slept at all so far. So Alec decided to take the time to admire the facial structure of a sleeping Magnus. Of course, he was gorgeous. He had long eyelashes, perfect skin, nice cheekbones. Really it wasn’t fair to be this good looking. It kind of made Alec mad because no wonder he couldn’t help but stare at this man, he looked like a god.

He was surprised when Magnus moved in his sleep and got closer to him. He could feel the soft breathing and after calming his racing heartbeat, he slowly felt himself drift off to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i'm very sorry about the delay. I've been getting worse and worse with those. So i'll try to upload once a week.
> 
> Thanks for sticking with me and hope you enjoy it.
> 
> P.S: thanks for the kind words in the comments it's a great motivation to write

When Alec woke up, he felt a weight around his waist. The tan skin and manicured nails were a dead giveaway. The realization that Magnus had him wrapped in his arm made his chest swell with happiness. Then he realized that he just woke up and probably looked like a mess. He tried to get out of the warm embrace without waking Magnus up, with the hope to maybe brush his teeth or even just fix his bedhead.

Just as he was out of the bed, a light rigging was heard and Magnus stirred and glanced up at him threw sleepy eyes. A smile appeared on his face when he saw Alec standing in front of him. Alec was split between wanting to gawk at Magnus who was incredibly sexy even when he just woke up and feeling embarrassed about his own appearance.

“Well hello Handsome. You look beautiful.” Magnus said softly.

Alec could only blush. He knew he looked like a mess. He always did when he was at his place and Jace and his sister always made fun of him about it. They said he looked like if had been electrocuted with his hair all messy and pointing every which way. Magnus was being nice but it still made his heart melt.

“Hi. I was just going to get dressed. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry. You didn’t wake me. I have a meeting today so I have to wake up anyways.”

“Oh I’m sorry I’ll get dressed and leave. I didn’t mean to overstay my welcome.” Alec said and started to pick up his jacket and shoes.

“Alexander, calm down. I’m not in a hurry for the meeting and even less for you to leave. You are always welcome here and could never overstay your welcome. My meeting isn’t for a few hours but I thought we could go out for breakfast or brunch at this hour.”

Alec had stopped and wasn’t sure if he heard right. Did Magnus say he was welcome whenever? That meant that he would be back, that this wasn’t a one-time thing that Magnus wanted to spend more time with him. Butterflies flew in his stomach and he didn’t really pay attention to the rest. He got ready in a daze and when he was ready, Magnus and him left to go eat.

The restaurant wasn’t very busy but the food was great. Magnus had some egg benedict and Alec ordered a crepe. The conversation was light and fun and Alec wasn’t as nervous as he usually was around Magnus. They stayed there for almost two hours before leaving, since Magnus had a meeting to go to and Alec had to go back to Idris.

As they parted ways at Alec’s car, Magnus felt Alec becoming restless and nervous. Unsure of the cause of this reaction, he asked if the blue eyed man was okay. Alec’s eyes darted to the ground and he stuttered a mess of words. Magnus looked at the young man with a questioning look. This time Alec repeated what he said a little more clearly.

“I didn’t know how to ask when we could meet up again. If you want to.”

“Of course I want to see you again, Alexander. I had a great time with you even if there were some unplanned nuisances who interrupted our time together. How about you come over on Friday night? You can stay for the weekend.”

Alec’s face became somber when he thought of the upcoming Friday. It was going to be the Mating Run. That was only four days away and the realisation dampened his good mood. Magnus realized the shift in emotion and asked if there was something wrong with his plan. He had expected a more enthusiastic reaction then the gloomy look on Alec’s face.

“I..I can’t this Friday. I wish I could but there’s a mandatory town thing I have to go to.”

“Mandatory town thing?”

“Kinda like an event.”

Alec was embarrassed to talk about the Mating Run. It was an archaic tradition that was pretty much abolished in most packs/communities but the town of Idris had always kept the stupid tradition. Magnus was an alpha from a big city and probably found the idea ridiculous and Alec didn’t want him to know that he had to take part in it.

“Oh well if you have plans already then there isn’t much that can be done. You can come over on Saturday or Sunday if you’re free.” Magnus replied lightly. “You have mandatory events in your town? I don’t recall any from my stay in Idris even if it was a short stay.”

“Well it’s not mandatory for everyone. Just a few people to make sure that there are people there.” Alec’s fumbled nervously.

“Are your events really that bad that they make it mandatory for people to show up? It couldn’t possibly be that bad. I’ve been to my fair share of bad parties but none had people obliged to go.”

“It’s pretty unpleasant for quite a few of the people there.”

“Then I feel like you should tell who ever organises this event that they are doing a terrible job at it. The point of a town event is to have fun. No drinks, cotton candy, popcorn, s’mores or other fun food?”

“We do have a bonfire but it’s pretty boring. Just a crowd a few speeches and then some running and activities and then we all go home.”

“That sounds awful. No wonder you don’t want to go. Who event thought of this?”

“Old people but the town kept the tradition.”

“Well I’m terribly sorry for you. I hope you can make it threw it without dying of boredom. You are free to come over once the tragic event is over.”

“I’ll try.”

“Very well. Message me when you know for sure. Now I really must go. See you soon Alexander.”

Alec was about to get in his car when a pair of strong hands grabbed his face and he felt a pressure on his lips. It took him a second to realise that Magnus was kissing him and by the time he tried to reciprocate, Magnus pulled away. Already missing the soft feeling of his lips on his own, Alec looked at Magnus in a daze.

“Well in the hopes that t will get you through your horrible Friday.” Magnus said while walking away with a huge smile on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. I think that I'll be publishing every 2 weeks since i'm having problems with my deadlines. Hope you like the chapter! :)

Alec was at the café cleaning the cups. Yet all he could think of was Magnus and their last moment together. The shock and then the felling of his lips.

“ALEC!!! Earth to Alec!!!!! Are you there?”

Alec snapped out of his daydream to look at Izzy waving her hand in his face. She looked both annoyed and confused. She had been talking to her brother for the past twenty minutes when she realised that he wasn’t listening. Jace did this all the time but he would purposefully do it to annoy her but Alec would always listen to her even if she was just talking nonsense, so this out of character behavior was strange.

“You’ve been drying that cup for the last twenty minutes. What’s got you so spaced out?”

Alec had already talked about his date with Magnus to Izzy yesterday, after coming back from New York City. He had mentioned that Magnus was actually a werewolf just like them and an alpha none the less. Izzy had been surprised that he had stayed but was to engrossed in the rest of the story to pay too much thought to it. Alec mentioned the rooms and Izzy couldn’t resist making a stupid joke about options if they ever needed them. Alec told her about Sebastien and Camille, which got Izzy to start ranting about her disgust for him and now this Camille person. He glossed over the shower incident by saying that Magnus was in the washroom getting ready to sleep and skipped the shirtless and towel part. Also leaving out the sleeping in the same bed and the kiss. It was to personal and Alec wanted to enjoy it without his family and friends giving his a rough time about it.

“Nothing. I was just thinking.”

“It wouldn’t be about a certain alpha would it?” Izzy said with a knowing smile when she saw the light blush growing on her brother’s face.

Izzy’s teasing was put on hold as two customers entered the café, which allow Alec to escape the interrogation and avoid having to talk about him. He managed to dodge all personal question for the rest of the day when their friends came to get Isabelle for a shopping trip. He spent the rest of the day working, keeping a certain someone always close in mind.

* * * * *

It was close to closing time when a stranger came in the café with a letter. It was the same guy as last time and Alec didn’t like it at all. He looked at the man dressed in a black trench coat with a hat and sunglasses. The stereotypical look of a suspicious person was almost funny but knowing who sent him made it no laughing matter.

“I’ve got a new letter.”

“Tell him to leave me alone. I don’t want to see him or hear about him.” Alec said impatiently.

Sebastien had made fun of him for many year, gravely injured him during the Mating Run and had tried to lie to Magnus about him. He was fed up and wanted it to end. Still the man stayed there with the letter in his hand, waiting for Alec to take it.

“Leave now. I don’t want the stupid letter. I’m done with him and don’t want to see him anymore.”

The man stayed there, not moving a muscle. He looked bored and clearly was waiting for Alec to take the letter. Out of anger, Alec grabbed the letter and ripped it in pieces. The man calmly took another letter out from his coat and handed it to the young man again. He said in a bored tone:

“Look just read the stupid letter so I can go.”

Resigned, Alec opened the letter and read it.

‘I heard you were at the loft. Don’t get too cocky, you’re about to get a rude awakening. I was thinking about coming to the Mating Run. You know, brings back old memories.  
See you soon.

-S.V-

When Alec looked up from the letter, he saw that the man was gone and he was once again alone in the café. The letter made him nervous and the implied threats were not to be taken lightly. Alec quickly closed the café and headed home to talk about the new letter with Jace and Izzy.

* * * * *

As his luck would have it, Simon and Clary were also there. After filling them in on the current situation with Sebastian, Alec read them the new letter. Izzy blew up after hearing the treat.

“WHAT?!? THAT LYING, CUNNIVING, SON OF A DUNKEYS ASS!!!! HOW DARE HE COME BACK HERE!!!!!! AFTER WHAT HE DID!!! AND HE LIED TO MAGNUS ABOUT YOU!!! IF I SEE THAT SLEEZY ASSWIPE I’M GOING TO RIPE HIM A NEW ONE AND SHOVE HIS STUPID LETTERS IN IT!!!”

“IZZY!! We get it your angry and so are we but we need to think of a solution for our problem. Screaming insults in the air isn’t helpful.” Clary rationalised. 

“Clary is right Izzy. We need to find a solution and then we can insult that dirt bag all we want.”

Izzy called down after a little more persuading and they all teamed up on finding a way to prevent any interaction between Sebastian and Alec. They knew that they couldn’t really stop him from coming back to Idris since they didn’t exclude any shifter and Sebastian was originally a resident of Idris which would make his return normal for anyone else. They agreed that the only solution was to have Alec be with someone else at all times, try to avoid Sebastian at all cost and get him Alec out as soon as the Run was done. Their plan was okay at best but they didn’t have much of a choice. Realizing that it was a time to go to bed, all departed and went to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the delay. It was March break and I spent most of my time sleeping. I also had a little writer's block but now it's finally over and I'm quite pleased with the length of the chapter. Hope you like it and thanks for the kudos and comments. Have a great day and I'll try to post the next chapter sooner.

Alec woke up screaming. He was covered in sweat and in a state of panic. Jace rushed in the room asking what happened, Izzy closely following him. They sat on each side f his bed concern looks on their faces.

“Alec are you okay? What happened?” Izzy asked.

“It was just a dream. Sorry to have woken the both of you.” Alec said. Trying to brush her off.

“That was one heck of a dream if it led to you screaming like that and your sheets are drenched with sweat. Get up we need to change them if you ever want to go back to sleep.”

As they changed the bedding, Izzy pressed Alec for information about his dream. Jace kept silent, not wanting to pressure him anymore. He was worried but knew that both Izzy and him pressuring Alec would be too much.

“Alec, look we’re just worried. You’ve never had such a reaction to a nightmare since I can remember. We want to help.” Izzy said with a calmer voice in which Alec could feel the concern and the love his sister had for him.

“It was at the Run. I was in the forest and all was quiet when I suddenly was tackled to the ground by something huge. It cut my breath and grinded me in the ground. I was dizzy and saw stars. The shadow that loomed over me was laughing and as the moonlight shined over me I saw Sebastien. We fought but he got the upper hand and then he bit me. Then I woke up screaming.” Alec said, face in once again covered in sweat as he relived the horrid memory.

“Alec. It’s okay. He can’t participate in the Run. He’s with that girl. A mated wolf can’t partake in the Run. He can’t mark you.” Jace said in a reassuring voice while still being firm as it was a fact that mated wolves were excluded from the run.

“He wasn’t marking me. He was biting my jugular. He was killing me.” Alec said in a whisper.

“Although, marking me would be just as bad.” Alec said trying to crack a joke when he saw the somber looks on both their faces. Which fell flat as it would be expected in such a situation. Jokes where also not his strong suit and his delivery was pretty poor.

“We wouldn’t let that happen. So both are impossible.” Jace abruptly stated. Anger clear in his eyes.

Jace didn’t know how far Sebastian would go but no matter what, Jace was adamant about preventing any harm from falling on his best friend whom he considered a brother. He then quickly exited the room to let out some rage on the boxing bag they had hung up in the living room.

Izzy gave her brother a hug and after telling him that he would be safe and that he had nothing to worry about had him go back to sleep as it was now close to morning. They both fell asleep on his bed as they had done when, in their childhood, one of them had had a really bad nightmare.

* * * * *

Magnus was over at Raphael’s apartment holding a blue cocktail out of a martini glass. He seemed deep in thoughts and had three pairs of eyes staring at him in disbelief. Realizing that his friends were staring at him he snapped out of his daze and looked at Raphael, Ragnor and Catarina who were looking at him.

“What? Why the strange looks?”

“You’ve been silent for the past 23 minutes and 44 seconds. You didn’t even drink a sip during all that time. It’s a first. In all the years we’ve known each other you’re always talking or drinking and this is a record.” Ragnor said, a look of pure shock clearly painted on his face.

“What’s on your mind, Magnus. It’s not like you to be so quiet.” Catarina said with a little more poise.

“I was thinking about Alexander.”

“Ah! The Omega from all the sappy love talk. I thought you got over the sickeningly sweet talk after he slept over here. You were finally talking about it like a regular person. Though you were still very smitten with him, you could finally talk about other things.” Raphael said sarcastically, with a joking tone.

“Well, he’s a special one. It’s not my fault that you care more about working than having a relationship with anyone. Just because you’re alone doesn’t mean you have to rain on my happiness.” Magnus replied.

“What were you thinking about?” Catarina asked.  
“Well he has a mandatory event this Friday and he seemed so miserable when talking about it. I was thinking about how I can make his weekend perfect when he comes over once it’s done.”

“Mandatory event? What’s that?”

“That was exactly my thought when I heard about it. A town event of some sort and they make it mandatory for people to show since no one would attend otherwise.”

“Why would the town still make it if nobody wants to go?” Ragnor questioned.

“I don’t have all the answers. I just learned about it and he seemed to hate it so a dropped the subject. So for the weekend, what ideas do you have to kame up for the bore he’ll have to go through on Friday?”

“Go somewhere he’ll have fun.” 

“Like I hadn’t thought of that Rag! I don’t know if he would prefer a fancy restaurant or a more casual one. What’s his favorite food? Would he rather go see a movie or does he want to stay home or go outside and go on a boat? Does he get seasick? Maybe a stroll in the park? But then will the temperature be nice or will we have to find something else to do last minute?”

“Calm down Magnus. I’m sure that he’ll be happy no matter what you have planned. But if you want to make him happy, I believe that the best way to do so is to go see him at the event on Friday. Maybe make the event less of a bore.” Catarina interjected.

Magnus got up and gave her a big hug while calling her a genius. He was so ecstatic that he ended up spilling his drink on Ragnor that was sitting next to Cat. The evening continued with usual banter between them, but Magnus now knew that he would go see his dear Alexander and save him from the dreaded town event.


	14. Chapter 14

Alec was woken up by a hit in the face. Shock and panic washed over him as he sat up and saw an arm lay on him. The well-manicured hand and snake cuff was a dead giveaway too the identity of the perp.

“Izzy! You just hit me!”

“Argh…No need to yell.”

“Izzy you have a horrible sleeping position. Your taking most of the bed space and you move so much you just hit me with your arm.”

“It can’t be that bad. Simon never was bothered.”  
“He’s probably sleeping with a helmet.”

Before Izzy could reply, Jace came in while looking towards the front door with a confused look on his face. Both siblings looked up at his arrival wondering what could be the cause of his strange look. If it had been Sebastian, Jace would be angry and yelling so who could be at the door?

“Alec you have a guest. It’s Magnus. He said he couldn’t let you bore yourself to death alone on Friday at the mandatory event.”

Mix feelings swelled up in his chest. Happiness, because Magnus came for him to a dreadful event to make him feel better. Fear, because the dreadful event is an ancient ritual that is mostly forgotten for city werewolves and he’s force to participate in it. Worst of all, Magnus came to be with him during this event and he won’t be able to spend most of his time with him because he’s going to the Run and expected to try and find a mate. His crush is going to witness him go to a mating event. Could this get any worse?

“He can’t be here? We were supposed to meet in the city on Saturday night.”

“Well he’s here now. So what do we do? He’s waiting in the living room.”

“He can’t know about tomorrow. I just told him it was a boring event. He doesn’t know about the Mating Run. He can’t know. Everything was going so well and now he’s going to know about the Run.” Alec said in a low sobbing voice.

He was gutted because there’s no way Magnus would be okay with him participating in the Run. Alec felt stuck between a rock and a hard place. He had to participate in the Run, it was the law. But at the same time he knew that Magnus and him had something special and he didn’t want to lose him. All were pondering what to do about the situation, when a voice was heard from the open doorway.

“Alexander darling, I could hear your sad voice and came to see what was happening.” 

“Magnus! It’s not what it looks like. I’m…”

“Alexander. I can see you’re troubled with something. Your eyes are filled with tears and your breathing is hitched. Just tell me what’s on your mind. If your angry I came without telling you, I’m sorry. I thought it would be a nice surprise.”

“No! I’m happy you’re here. It’s just… It’s just…”

“Hello! I’m Isabelle, Alec’s sister. It’s nice to meet you.” Izzy interrupted, trying to give her brother time to compose himself and maybe try to find a way out of the situation.

“Oh forgive me for not introducing myself. I’m Magnus Bane.” Magnus walked up to her and shook her hand. “I was concerned for Alexander and my manners were pushed to the back of my mind. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. I see you’re quite worried for him. You even came all the way here to prevent him from being bored during tomorrows event.”

“Yes well I thought that the best way to make a boring event fun is to have people you have fun be there with you so I decided to do just that.”

“How thoughtful of you. Alec sur is lucky to have someone who would do that for him.”

“He deserves it. He’s a very caring person and deserves to be happy.”

While Izzy continued to converse with Magnus, Alec got a hold of his emotions and began to plan a way to avoid telling Magnus about the Run on the next day. A single look at Jace and both knew that a plan was going to be placed in motions and that for now, the goal was to keep Magnus out of the loop about the reason for the following day’s event.

“Magnus.” Alec said, interrupting the conversation that had now strayed to clothing. “I’m glad to see you. I was just surprised.”

“Oh I understand and didn’t mean to impose.”

“You’re not I happy you’re here. Did you eat before getting here?”

“No but I did get take out at this nice little spot just before interring the village and I have more than enough for all four of us if you want.”

“Thanks that would be great. Just going to get ready and we’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“No problem. I’ll got get it from the car.”

As Magnus left, Alec told Izzy and Jace the plan he had to hide the truth from Magnus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter but I needed to stop here so the chapters feel right. The next chapter is about the plan but the Mating Run is just a day away so thanks for reading hope you like it and thanks for reading it


	15. Chapter 15

“We need to keep Magnus away from the preparations today. The café and the apartment are the only places that are safe since the café is closed today. At least this stupid event doesn’t come with huge banners and posters. But then we can’t let anyone mention it in front of him. Tell Clary and Simon so they don’t ruin it. Especially Simon. Izzy.” Alec added while looking at his sister.

“I’ll tell him and make sure he doesn’t let it slip.” 

“We’ll just pretend it’s a town historical event. Those are naturally boring for people and Magnus shouldn’t question it.”

“You know that you could just tell him right?” Jace said. Making Alec look at him with a look of disbelief.

“This is the Mating Run. A ceremony to find a mate and spend the rest of our lives together. How does that say casual circumstance when dating?” Alec’s voice was rising in tone and pitch. “I finally find someone that I like and seems to like me and you want me to just say that I can’t go on a date because I have to partake in a mating ritual. I’m sure there’s going to be no problem there.”

“Calm down Alec. Jace is just saying that you may want to tell Magnus about it. He’s bound to find out sooner or later.” Izzy stepped in.

“Later would be great. Like after it happened and maybe 4 or 5 years down the line. Actually, ‘never’ seems like the best time. Ya, ‘never’ works for me.”

“Sigh. Well we still believe that you should tell him but if you’re this convinced that it’s the best solution then fine. Continue with your plan.”

“So today we just keep it simple. Café and apartment only and avoid anyone else basically.”

“So we’re going to quarantine him.” Jace asked in an unimpressed tone.

“It’s not really quarantine, just limited contact.”

“And tomorrow? We can’t really stop him from going and then the gig is up.”

“If we tell him that it starts after nightfall we should be okay. The Run will be over and then we’ll just go to the celebration part. No one mentions the Run at that point they just drink and eat. Or I’ll say that I managed to get out of it and then will spend the night here or hopefully I’ll convince him to leave for New York then instead of the next morning.”

“This is ridiculous. The odds of this working is close to none. You are aware of this right?” 

“Please! I don’t want to scare him off. You know how the Mating Run is seen by city wolves. It’s barbaric and frowned upon. We’re one of the only communities to still do it, if not the only one. If Magnus knew, I don’t want to know how he’ll react.”

Seeing his friend so desperate, Jace finally gave in. He saw how much this meant to Alec and he didn’t want to cause a drift between him and Magnus. 

“Fine. But I still have my doubts.”

* * * * *

Magnus was in the kitchen plating the food he had bought on his way to Idris. As he saw the three of them, he smiled and presented his work. All the food looked great and Izzy recognized quite a few from the numerous food articles she had seen online. It all came from at new restaurant that was a little out of New York. Some of the most popular dishes were the cheese soufflé, the prosciutto/brie/green apple panini on a Mediterranean black olive bread and the crêpes. All those dishes and more where now on the table, waiting to be eaten.

“Omg, those are the dishes from ‘Paradise’. They got three Michelin stars only a few days after opening. How did you get those? They have a waiting list to eat there.”

“I’m friends with the owner. It wasn’t a big deal so go ahead and eat.”

Izzy and Jace rushed to eat, while Alec went up to Magnus to thank him for the food. They both shared looks that expressed all the happiness that they were feeling at the moment, without having to speak.

“I subject we start eating or there’s going to be no food left pretty soon.” Alec said, breaking the peasant silence between them.

“I can see that. But I’m glad that they like. So shall we?” Magnus asked as he pulled out the chair for Alec.

* * * * *

The group was now in the café, Clary and Simon had joined them and all were getting to know Magnus. Clary and him had both hid it of pretty well just as Izzy had but Magnus still needed time to understand Simon. His passion for the sci-fi and fantasy movies and comics were not great conversation starters. Jace had reassured Alec that he had warned Clary and Simon about the situation and that they should be fine. Though he had felt the need to specify that Clary had also agreed with him and thought that simply telling him would be a better idea. Alec ignored the comment and had gone back to the group. He knew that telling Magnus would be the right thing to do but he was scared. The Mating Run was almost taboo among most packs. Werewolves had abandoned it and only very dated wolves still wanted it to still be practices. Most of the pairings had ended up poorly, to say the least, in the last few decades so the event had been dropped.

As they all sat on the sofas, Magnus was telling them the story of a crazy party he had gone to with his friends Raphael and Catarina. Izzy was clearly very interested, while the rest simply enjoyed the simple talk. Alec was mostly happy to learn more about Magnus and he had managed to put his worries aside for now. Eventually the cups of coffee were empty so Alec offered to refill them for all and Clary offered to help so they both went to the back of the shop.

“Why won’t you just tell him?” Clary asked, as soon as they were out of ear range.

“I can’t. 

“Why not?”

“He’ll think…”

“He would know that you would be going against your will. You really think he’s going to be put off by it? If you do, then you don’t know him very well. I’ve just met him and I know he’s not like that. You…”

“I know he wouldn’t reject me because of that. I do know. But I also know that he’s going to feel the need to do something about it. Like maybe take part in it or step in and offer to be my mate. I know he would, but I don’t want him to do it. Not because he feels bad for me.”

Both fell silent. Clary didn’t know what to say. All her arguments were gone. What could she say? He was right. If Magnus knew about the situation, he would offer to step in and even if it would be a nice sign of his affection, Alec would always feel like it was a gesture of pity. A pretty miserable way to start a life time engagement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone thanks so much for reading the story. I got so many comments about how Alec should tell Magnus and I really appreciate it. Everything will happen in the next chapter: the Mating Run, the outcome of Alec's decision and more.
> 
> Thanks for reading and have a nice day/night/week.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is almost double the length but the next one will probably be like the first 15. Hope you like it. There are links to pictures used to represent stuff from this chapter in the bottom note.

Alec and Clary brought the coffee back to the group and avoided to make eye contact with each other. The weight of the conversation they both had still heavy on their mind. Magnus noticed Alec’s tensed shoulders and whispered in Izzy’s ear. Her face lit up and she nearly jumped up, asking everyone to follow except Alec and Magnus. Everyone looked at her confused as she ushered them into the back of the café, leaving her brother alone with Magnus.

“What just happened?” Alec asked still unsure of the situation.

“I noticed that you seemed thence so I asked Izzy to excuse us but it would seem like she decided to give us some time alone in another way.”

“You thought I looked thence?” Alec asked nervously.

“My Dear, I don’t know what is on your mind but if you need or want to talk to me about it, I’d be more then glad to listen. I’ve noticed that you’ve been on edge ever since I asked you to stay for the weekend. If it was too soon, I understand and you don’t have to force yourself. We can take this slowly.”

“No. It’s not that. I really did want to spend the weekend with you. I just… It’s complicated. There’s just a lot going on this week and I’ve been stressed about it.”

“We can talk about it if you want.”

Getting no reply, Magnus decided to get up. Alexander grew nervous that his lack of answer may have angered Magnus. Here Magnus was, worried about him and he couldn’t even give him a reply. He was pulled out of his thoughts by an offered hand placed in his field of vision. He took it and Magnus had him get up and follow him outside the café. His plan to keep Magnus inside, completely forgotten. He was led to the woods that neared the café when Magnus let go and stopped. 

“Let’s go for a run.” Magnus suggested.

“What?”

“Let’s go for a run. We shift and you run to someplace you really like and just let all your nervous energy out.”

“Right now?”

“No time like the present. Come on. It’s going to be fun.” Magnus replied right before shifting.

A second later, a massive black wolf stood in his place. Fur as black as night with golden eyes that were still as mesmerizing as his human counterpart. Alexander was in awe at the majestic beast and he felt his inner wolf push to be set free. The strong aura of the Alpha drawing him out. Alec’s legs were growing week in the knees. He hadn’t felt the strong aura since Sebastian and Camille’s unpleasant visit. He started to wonder why he hadn’t felt the aura as strongly since. Maybe he was getting used to it? But the scent did usually increase when he was out with Jace. A push from Magnus brought him back to reality. He then took a deep breath and started to shift.

* * * * *

Two shadows ran through the forest, just a blur of fur. The smaller one was a brown and beige while the other was fully black. When they arrived at a small clearing near a small pond, the brown wolf came to a stop, as did the second wolf. Alec walked to a small opening in a large rock formation near the water. His lean frame was small enough to allow him to enter without trouble but Magnus’s broad shoulders made it a little harder for him. Once the entrance pasted, the inside was larger, allowing him to move at will. The scent inside the cave was that of Alexander. A few human belongings were already there and few plastic boxes were in a corner full of blankets and pillows. Magnus was then struck by s shocking realization. This was Alec’s nest. He couldn’t believe that Alexander had let him enter such a place without a second thought. Could he not know what this place really meant? Magnus shifted back into his human form before his wolf tried anything he would regret. Alec also shifted back into his human form and looks at Magnus with a curious look.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you come here often?”

“Wh… Ya at least once a week and sometimes I just stay the night. It calms me and keeps me relax when I’m on edge. Why?”

“Alexander, I think this is your nest.”

“My nest?”

“Have you never heard of an Omega’s nest?”

Alec shook his head in confusion. He had never heard of Omega’s having a ‘nest’. What was it?

“The nest is an omega’s private place. They use it as a personal space to avoid others, usually to relax and pass their monthly emotion surge. It’s a safe haven from the rest of the world as some would say. Others aren’t usually supposed to enter as it can cause aggression in the omega that owns it. I’m surprised you wanted me to come in.”

Alec was shocked. He had never heard of this. He knew about the monthly emotion surge. He had gotten it since he hit puberty and it had led to some pretty heated conversations between him and his family but they knew about it so no hard feelings were kept. The nest was on the other hand completely new knowledge. It did make sense though. He did come here to be alone and to feel safe and relax, but if this was his nest and he was supposed to keep others out, why was he happy to have Magnus here with him? Could this not be his nest? But he didn’t have another place he went to, to relax.

“But you’re here.”

“Well I guess you were not aware of the fact that this was your nest so you didn’t feel like it was threatened. It’s not that big of a deal, but I’m glad you brought me here. It’s nice to know more about you.”

Alec blushed and looked down. He thought back to each Mating Run and every time he had hidden here. The one time someone followed him was the time he fought with Sebastian and he did end up attacking him so maybe this was his nest? But then again it was because he had taunted him so maybe not? His attention was then caught by his watch as he realized that they had been gone for 3 hours and that their friends were probably wondering where they were. Both shifted into wolf form and ran back to town.

They rejoined the group, had a fun dinner and decided to have a game night before going to bed. They ended up with quite a few drinking games and laughter. Alec and Magnus were the only ones still awake as everyone else was passed out drunk. They quietly went to Alec’s room and ended up falling asleep together on his bed.

* * * * *  
When morning arrived, everyone was still hungover and sprawled on the floor. Magnus and Alec decided to prep for breakfast when a grumpy Izzy came in the kitchen. She poured herself a huge cup of coffee and mumbled a greeting after a long sip. She then went to the extra bed she was using at Alec and Jace’s apartment. Eventually, everyone was awake and getting ready for the day. Alec was trying his best to find a way to have Magnus busy until the end of the Run that would last from 3h30 to 5h30. Hopefully, Izzy and Jace had found something to occupy Magnus for that time lapse.

Breakfast was pretty chaotic so Alec’s nervousness was easily overlooked and he was happy about it. He spent the day with everyone and when 3h15 came, Izzy asked Magnus to go to her small studio to look at some of the clothing designs she had been dabbling with. Alec was relieved since Magnus agreed. He claimed that he needed to help prep for the town event and both parted ways. On his way to the meeting point, his stomach started to twist and a nervous shiver ran down his spine. The smell was that of an Alpha he knew too well and it wasn’t a pleasant one. Sebastian.

In all his worrying about Magnus finding out, he had forgotten about Sebastian and his threats.

“Well if it isn’t Alexander Lightwood.”

“It’s Alec.”

“I heard that you answer to Alexander now. Or maybe that’s only for Alpha Bane. After all that time when you refused to accept it as your real name. What a surprise that was. So on your way to the Run? What happened to your boyfriend? Couldn’t make it? Did he flee when he heard about the Mating Run? Or was it when he heard that no one else ever wanted you?”

Alec was fuming and he wanted to fight but he knew that it would only cause trouble, so he passed by Sebastian and ran to the meeting point. Magnus couldn’t know about the run and he needed to get to the meeting point in less than five minutes. He could hear the snarky remarks and insults as he left and he knew that with the face he was making now, no one would come close to him during the run. Running into Sebastian was useful for at least that.

* * * * *

“So the Run is about to start. Omegas get ready to start.” The mayor said while raising a small red flag. When he brought it down the omegas ran for the woods, Alec, being one of the first ones to enter the forest. He ran and ran to his secret hiding spot and once there, he remembered Magnus had said that this was most likely his nest. A private peaceful place for him to relax and feel safe. He wanted to stay since this place did calm him but he didn’t want others to know about it either. This feeling was not new he realized, it was just stronger now since it was now something special and he shared with Magnus. It was like a secret between the both of them and he liked the sweet, warm feeling that thought brought him. Alec decided to go elsewhere when he heard the town’s clock ring four times indicating that 30 minutes had past and now the rest of the wolves were now entering the forest. Alec dashed thru the water by his hiding spot to throw away his trail in the unlikely situation someone was following his scent and ran to a nearby cave that he had found in the past and hid there. He didn’t want to have to deal with anyone during the run. He just wanted to hide for an hour and a half and then go back and find Magnus. He knew that Magnus was the one for him. He felt happy and nervous each time they met up but then as time would pass, the nervous energy would melt away and he just felt pure bliss. Just as he was imagining Magnus asking him to be his mate, a tall shadow stretched over him, blocking the sun from his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so these are the pictures if found that represent important parts of the story. feel free to ignore them if you want to keep imagining it.
> 
> Alec’s hiding spot/nest  
> https://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/EmeraldPond/images/061414/DSC04465.jpg
> 
> Magnus as a wolf  
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DTG5C0FXcAA2EHQ.jpg
> 
> Alec as a wolf  
> https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/timber-wolf-v-8984024.jpg
> 
> Izzy as a wolf  
> https://i.ytimg.com/vi/oEWcB94XnAw/maxresdefault_live.jpg
> 
> Jace as a wolf but a little thinner  
> https://i.pinimg.com/736x/42/4a/80/424a807d35837c48923ae74740f2a589--beautiful-dogs-most-beautiful.jpg
> 
> Clary as a wolf  
> http://www.zoosociety.org/img/fun_stuff/phototips/NematTimberWolf_lg.jpg
> 
> Luke as a wolf  
> https://i.pinimg.com/736x/66/ac/9b/66ac9b3d63346a5294eb796877e92113--princess-painting-grey-wolves.jpg
> 
> Sebastian as a wolf  
> http://ekladata.com/HkWybmRT13JI1AUPzcZC_COrhG0.jpg
> 
> Simon as a wolf  
> http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T4itpVPkw6A/Tp2IeUfEdzI/AAAAAAAAAEc/Gxe1-7nI4Wo/s1600/Canis_Lupus_SignatusZOOM.jpg
> 
> Ragnor as a wolf  
> https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CU-kcvAW4AA1Ec-.jpg
> 
> Catarina as a wolf  
> http://big5kayakchallenge.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/fancy-white-tiger-cover-photos-talking-wind-wolf-rp-members-white-tiger-cover-photos.jpg


	17. Chapter 17

"Missed me?” the shadow asked Alec as it got closer.

“Who?”

“It’s me Alexander.”

“Magn… You’re not Magnus.” Alec realized. He then shifted into his wolf form and jumped the imposter.

“Get off me you freak.”

Sebastian kicked him off and morphed into his wolf form. A brown and grey large wolf stood in an aggressive stance, baring his fangs as he snarled at Alec. Alec noticed that Sebastian’s wolf had gained weight since their previous fight and he wasn’t sure if he would be able to match him for as long as he had in the past. While he was thinking, Sebastian had pounced and he was now pinned to the grown under the angry Alpha. He didn’t like the fear he felt creeping up on him. He struggled to get out and it made Sebastian smile, his snout getting closer to Alec’s shoulder. Realising that if he was bitten it was game over for him, Alec bit down on Sebastian’s right paw which made him back up and allowed Alec to escape. He made a mad dash for an unknown destination. As he ran and ran, he tried his best to find ways to mask his scent and make fake leads. He had always been fast and now with an injured paw, Sebastian couldn’t keep up. Then the town clock was heard. It was finally 5h00. The Run was over. He was safe. Alec made his way back to the starting point and saw that a few mattings had been created. All seemed happy and so was he. This nightmare was finally over. He would never have to do this ever again.

* * * * *

Alec rushed to his apartment after getting a text from Jace saying that Magnus was at the café with them and that the apartment was free. He quickly took a shower to get rid of the smell of sweat and dirt, but mostly to feel clean after fighting Sebastian. The thought of what could have happened gave him shivers down his spine and he turned the knob to make the water even hotter. It was almost burning hot and made his skin red but it made him feel cleaner. Then he realized something. How had Sebastian been eligible for the Run? The Run was for unmated wolves alone, yet he had been in a known matting with Camille. What had happened? Did he enter without permission? Then he broke the law and could be found guilty of breaking an Ancient Law. If Alec was to report him he could be out of his life for good. Well out of Idris. Still better than the way it was now.

Alec hurried out of his shower and threw a black shirt and ripped black jeans and rushed out of the apartment to meet up with his friends at the café. He needed to talk to Jace and Izzy about it.

* * * * *

“Are we going to meet up with Alexander here or at the festival?” Magnus asked the group as they were sitting in the café.

“He’s on his way. The preparations took a while and he needed to get changed.” Jace replied as he looked at his phone.

“Not that there’s going to be a difference between both outfits. He only wears black shirts with black pants. Those are the only things he owns. He also only has black shoes.” Izzy muttered to herself making Magnus’s mouth curl into a grin.

He had noticed that Alec always wore black on each of their meetings and it had crossed his mind that he didn’t own anything else. He made a mental note to go shopping with Alec to try and add a few colors to his wardrobe. He did like Alec and wouldn’t change him for anything but a few items of color would really bring out his good looks.

Just as he was thinking about different places he should bring the young man shopping, the door to the café was pushed open and Alec entered a little out of breath as if he was running.

“Sorry for being late. I was held back and had to get changed.”

“No worries. You’re here now so we can all go and make this boring event a real celebration.” Magnus said while looking at the young man.

Everyone got up and made their way to the town square, where the food stalls were installed and the bonfire was to be lit once the night fell. The whole town was there and it did seem like a normal celebration. Simon and Izzy went to get the drinks, Clary and Jace went to get the food and Alec and Magnus were staying at the table so no one else took it. This time alone made Alec nervous. He knew he had done something wrong by hiding his whereabouts from Magnus but he also didn’t want him to feel forced to intervene. That decision was a risk and it almost cost him big but now that it was over, he felt like he should tell Magnus about it once they were alone and in private.

Everyone came back with the food and his worries took a back seat in his mind and he had fun with his friends and the man that made him the happiest he had ever been. Magnus did make the celebration more fun. He made them play different drinking games and then he shared his recipe for the best s’mores ever that even Izzy was able to do. At the end of the evening, all were happy and slightly tipsy. Simon and Izzy went to his apartment and Clary and Jace left for hers. Magnus and Alec made the journey back to his apartment. He felt giddy and warm from the alcohol and Magnus’s presence next to him. Then he realized that he hadn’t talked about Sebastian to either Jace or Izzy and his happy mood started to fade. It also made him realize that he had to tell Magnus. Magnus noticed and as they entered the condo, asked Alec what was wrong.

“There’s something a need to tell you. And you’re not going to like it.”


	18. Chapter 18

“What is it, Alexander?”

“I’ve been dishonest with you.”

“Oh, how so?” Magnus asked, with a worried tone.

Alec felt his back tense up. He knew that Magnus would be angry and he started to feel so nervous that he wanted to bolt out. He kind of wished he hadn’t said anything, but he knew that this was the right thing to do. He had to do this.

“It’s about today’s event.”

“The festival? What about it?”

“Ya, well the reason why I had to go was because I’m an Omega.”

“An omega? What does that have to do with anything?”

“The event was mandatory for any omega under the age of 22.”

“Why?” Magnus asked even more curious.

Alec took a big breath to calm his nerves. He had to say it.

“Idris still does the Mating Run and I had to go!” Alec blurted out in a quick breath.

He couldn’t look Magnus in the eyes so he kept his head down. He could feel the golden eyes staring at him. The alpha aura around Magnus grew stronger and made Alec even more nervous. It didn’t have the calming effect it usually had on him this time. Magnus took a deep breath and Alec braced himself to hear the worst. What he heard made his heart stop.

“I already knew about it, Alexander.”

“What?!”

“I knew about the Run. People aren’t exactly hiding it when you come into town. Just as I arrived yesterday morning people were already talking about it in the streets. I also asked around about the festival before arriving at your apartment and I was informed by a very happy couple that the town was having a Mating Run and that their son was going to participate in it for the first time this year.”

“So you knew?”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t seem to be…”

“I was pretending since I assumed you didn’t want me to know. You never told me about the reason for the festival, so I decided to go along. I was waiting for you to tell me.”

“And I didn’t.”

“It did take a while for you to mention it.”

Alec sat on the couch, his head between his hands. He had screwed it up. Magnus had waited for him to tell the truth and he didn’t. Magnus knew about his dishonesty all along.

Magnus stood in front of him and was having an internal debate between. He wanted to tell Alec that it was okay but he also felt betrayed by him. He knew that the Mating Run was a taboo for most werewolves. As an omega, it was probably even harder to mention for him since he didn’t have a choice. Still, he would have wanted Alec to confide in him. It was a little ridiculous since they had met barely a week prior but he felt a strong pull towards the younger man and felt protective towards him. He had wanted to rush to the Run and protect Alec but he also wanted to give Alec the personal space he seemed to need at the moment. He had noticed that Alec had been slightly distracted since his arrival to Idris. He had hoped that Alec would tell him the truth at least but felt hurt when he didn’t. When they were around the campfire he had kept a cheery disposition but he didn’t feel right. Being told now did count for something and he could see how much this had weighed on Alexander’s mind but the nagging feeling of betrayal still lingered in his mind.  
“So…” Alec started. Pulling Magnus out of his thoughts.

“What know?” Magnus finished for him.

Alec just slowly nodded. He didn’t feel confident enough to speak. He knew that his voice would break and he would probably start to cry. He didn’t want to cause Magnus even more trouble.

“I don’t know yet. I want to say that this is all okay and that I don’t mind but it’s not true. I would have liked you to tell me about the Run or at least not lie to me about it. I need time to think.”

It wasn’t the ideal answer but he hadn’t done the ideal thing either. It could have been worse. Far worse. Alec took a deep breath and decided that time would be the best solution at the moment. It would give time to the both of them to think about it and hopefully make a rational decision.

“I understand. I’ll get the guest room ready for you… That is if you want to stay here.”

“I think it would be best if I didn’t. I’ll go to the B&B I rented. Goodnight Alexander.” Magnus avoided eye contact with Alexander and left the apartment without another word, leaving Alec alone.

When the door closed behind him, Alec’s vision blurred and tears dripped down his face. He had really messed up.

* * * * *

Once out of the building, Magnus made his way out of town and towards the thick mass of trees. He needed to get rid of the negative energy he felt building up inside of him. Once he was nearing the woods, he shifted and made a dash into the foggy darkness letting his wolf take over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short chapter. I'm in my finals and they are kicking my butt so this is all I had time to write. Hope you like it. Have a great day!


	19. Chapter 19

Alec woke up with puffy red eyes and a pain in his chest. As the memories of the previous night came back to him, he was struck by an additional pain in his head. He had drank half a bottle of rum after Magnus had left him and the hangover was not worth the little consolation drink had brought him. He knew that Magnus had every right to be angry. He had lied and tried to fool him. The thought of it all made him depressed and he didn’t want to get up. He fell in and out of consciousness, liking the feeling sleep brought him. It wasn’t until midday that he was disturbed by Jace who came to see why he hadn’t been to work.

Jace saw that the apartment hadn’t been disturbed since he had come back to change for his shift. He made his way to Alec’s room and knocked. He wasn’t sure what he would see since he knew that Alec and Magnus left the festivities together and he really didn’t want to walk in on them while they were… busy.

No reply came from the other side so he knocked loudly, making the door creak on its hinges. After a few seconds, a loud crash was heard and Alec opened the door looking as bad as he felt. Jace jumped back when he saw the sorry sight of his friend.

“God what happened to you? It looks like you’ve been sick with a high fever.”

“I told him. I told him about the Run and now he’s gone.”

“He just left? I didn’t take him for such a narrow minded guy. Guess we all misjudged…”

“No he knew about the Run. He was angry that I didn’t tell him about it before.”

Jace knew that this was taking a big toll on Alec and he didn’t know what to do. He knew that Alec was sad about Magnus but Magnus was rightfully angry. He told Alec to take a shower to calm him down. While Alec was in the shower he made a call to Izzy who rushed over. She arrived just as the water stopped running in the washroom. She had been filled up on the situation and felt it would be best if Alec was brought out to distract him. So she did exactly that. She dragged both guys out to every activity she could think of. They went to eat at the café that they closed for the day and did a movie marathon at Simon’s house.

******

Magnus ran at top speed for a while and only slowed down once he felt to tiered to continue. He stopped and continued to wander at a slower pace, not really aware of his surroundings. He thought of Alec and how they had parted ways a few hours prior. Magnus was divided between his hurt feelings and his affection for Alec. He wanted to go back and try to make up with him and just as he was going to make his way back to the town, a familiar smell made him pause. Nose up in the air, he tried to find where the smell came from.

He followed the scent which was growing stronger and stronger and saw he was nearing Alec’s nest. He ran the rest of the way, clawing the ground as he went. As he neared it, he could see a wolf at the entrance of the cave on his way in. He leapt and tackled him to the ground, fangs bare. He pinned Sebastian to the ground and snarled at him. Sebastian tried to throw him off but he was no match for the angry Alpha especially since he was wounded and hadn’t slept since. He shifted into his human form with the little strength he had left.

“I’m wounded. I can’t fight right now. Get off!” Sebastian said still pinned down.

Magnus just growled at him and didn’t move. He didn’t want this lowlife to come near Alexander again and that feeling included his sacred place. Sebastian who knew that Magnus was protecting the cave because it smelled strongly of Alec raised his hands in surrender.

“Okay, I get it I won’t go in there but I need to find a place to rest. I’m beat in more ways than one. So get off me.”

This time Magnus did get off him but still ready to pounce if he felt he needed to. Sebastian slowly backed up and after putting a few meters between the two of them he shifted and limped into the forest. All the adrenaline the was in Magnus’s system quickly left and all the fatigue that had piled up came crashing down on him. He sat at the entrance of the cave and slowly fell asleep.

****** 

Alec was still depressed and even if Izzy tried to distract him as best she could, he couldn’t get Magnus out of his mind. He was sure that he was now in New York having a party with a crowd and drinks. He felt miserable and decided to go for a run into the woods. He shifted and made his way to the forest and made a dash for the trees. He felt better as he ran freely. It was ironic that his troubles were due to a Run and yet the best way to clear his mind was to do exactly that, run. As he neared his haven, he noticed a strong Alpha scent that made him stop in his tracks. Sebastian was near or had gone by not long ago. He made a mad dash to his cave, missing another scent that was coming from elsewhere. When he got close, he saw a big wolf at the entrance of his cave. He was about to charge when a scent that was both familiar and calming replaced the one he had first noticed.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hi everyone. Sorry about the lack of update for like ever. I had exams and then never came back to writing it. So after all your kind words I decided to give myself a kick in the butt and finished this chapter. I'll continue it for sure. The updates will be irregular but I will finish it. Hope you like the chapter even if it's a little short. 
> 
> Thanks for the support!!

MAGNUS!!! IT WAS MAGNUS!!!  
Alec’s ears raised at the scent and his heart jumped of joy. The sight of his beloved who seemed as if he was protecting his haven filled his heart with joy. He ran toward the large black wolf and tackled him.  
******   
Magnus was woken up by a blur of fur ramming into his side, making him topple over and ended up pinned under this furry missile. It took a moment for Magnus to understand what had happened and he was ready to fight back, but Alec’s face looking down on him made him pause. For a moment, confusion about the reality of the situation clouded his mind but when he realised that it was real, a feeling of relief and happiness washed over him. He forgot about their argument and just let the pleasant feelings Alec’s presence brought him soothe his fatigue and tension after the Sebastian encounter. They stayed there in each other’s arms, lying on the ground without saying a word. There was much to talk about between them but for now they wanted to just enjoy each other’s company.  
After a few minutes, Alec broke their eye contact and moved off of Magnus who finally got up. They both just made their way inside the little opening to the cave and morphed back to human form. Alec wrapped himself in a blanket before giving one to Magnus. They sat close to each other without actually touching since they knew that this was going to be a serious conversation.  
“I’m glad you’re still here. I was sure you would have packed and left.” Alec finally said.

“I needed to clear my head. I never intended to leave.” Magnus replied. The last part gave Alec a warm feeling that spread throw out his body. 

“I had time to think about your situation and the dilemma you faced. I know why you hid it from me and I understand why. It still bothers me but I can’t stay angry about it. This was clearly not the ideal situation for either of us.” Magnus continued.

Alec was overcome by joy. Here he was with the man of his dreams, the one he loved and had thought he lost, talking out their problems and actually moving on with a better foundation then he ever thought possible. He didn’t have to worry about Magnus leaving.

“I think that it was the wrong way to go about this situation and I understand why you got angry. I should have been honest about what was happening. If there is ever another situation like this, I’ll tell you.” Alec said with a guilty look.

Magnus got up and came to sit next to him, covering him with his own blanket and hugging him in the process. They sat there enjoying their presence and their newly restored trust. 

******

Jace and Izzy stood in front of Alec’s room unsure if they should knock or let him rest a little more. They knew that he was seriously hurt by the situation and they wanted him to at least be well rested.

“So should we or should we not?” Jace asked in a whisper.

“I don’t know! What would make you feel better if Clary bumped you?”

“Clary would never dump me! We are perfect together!”

“Lower your voice!” Izzy hissed. “You’ll wake him up!”

“Well then we would know that it’s okay to go in.”

“But it defies the point of this conversation.”

“Fine let’s just knock and see from there.”

Jace knocks on the door and awaits an answer, but hears nothing. He knocks again this time louder and hears nothing. Impatient, he swings the door open and walks in.

“He isn’t even in here!”

“What? So he actually went out?”

“Guess so.”

“We have to look for him. He’s clearly hurting and might wander off.”

“Let’s go.”

******

Jace and Izzy ran to the woods and shifted, picking up Alec’s scent pretty easily. They follow it for a while when the scent of an unwanted Alpha gets mixed to it. They pick up the paste and make a dash towards the direction the scent is leading. Jace is solely focus on making sure Sebastian hasn’t gone after Alec. Izzy was equally worried but could smell a familiar scent that was starting to appear on the path. The thought popped into her head that maybe they didn’t need to worry as much. Still, better be sure and avoid an unpleasant surprise. 

When they made it to a small lake they didn’t see any sign of Alec or Sebastian. Jace shift back and rushed out into the open area and looks around and picks up Alec, Sebastian and Magnus’s scents.

“Izzy, they were here.”

“I can smell them too you know.”

“Where can they be?”

“Sebastian’s scent goes that way so it’s safe to assume that… I don’t think we need to worry.” Izzy said while pointing to two figures who were emerging from a small opening between rocks.

Jace turned and saw Magnus and Alec standing side by side in each other’s arms.

“I guess it’s safe to say your back together?” Izzy asked with a corner smile.

Alec and Magnus looked at each other and just smiled back.


End file.
